All That's Left
by Nari-sama
Summary: Everyone is trying to escape something...Rei has just moved to this run down city to escape his Mother...Kai and Tala are best friends trying to survive and escape Biovolt after their usefulness as soldiers has ended...and Max is trying to escape himsel
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the Beyblade guys but atleast I own Kurohashi Secondary YAY I own a school that means I can burn it YAY

**Read ...Review O.O' Pleasles**

**All That's Left  
**_Chapter 1 the Likes of Me _

16 year old Max Mizuhara sat in his usual seat at the back, in home group. He was early like always to escape Bryan and Ian, the resident bullies of Kurohashi Secondary, and had been sitting there for an hour listening to music, waiting for his best friend Takao Kinomiya to arrive, like any other school day 'Business as usual' he thought sarcastically, out of the corner of his eye he saw someone come into class 'Wait nobody comes in this early other than me'.

Of course it was nobody Max knew that came through the door for he was Rei Kon, an exchange student from across the Sea of Japan in China.

Rei danced shifting his weight from one leg to the other, his ankle length raven hair brushed against his back in its white bindings and his bizarre bangs held out of his amber eyes by a red yin/yang bandana tied around his forehead. He stood nervously in the threshold playing with the high collar of his all blue suit style uniform and stared at Max, with his large oval framed glasses, neat though baggy uniform and curly blond hair, there was something at the back of his mind that just screamed 'NERDDDD!' something he'd dare not ever say out loud though.

Rei sapped out of his revelry and decided to go talk to the boy. Max having been watching this the whole time froze when Ray moved to him all too common was it for even a new student to pick on him for his obvious nerdish appearance; his dad had made him keep the glasses even when his mum had secretly gotten him contact lenses he had said it was to toughen him up.

'_Please_…. toughen up **my ass**' Max thought bitterly 'what would he know he works in a sports store and takes steroids instead of actually going to a gym like I do goddamn hypocrite'.

"Hi um…I'm Rei" He introduced a little nervously.

"…Max…" The blond mumbled in reply, his head bowed.

"I just started here does anyone sit here" Rei asked politely, Max shook his head 'Damn straight no one would want to sit near me I'm a loser..…he seems nice I wonder what his deal is he looks the type to get both straight A's and all the chicks although not everyone is what they seem now are they…..' Max thought smirking inwardly remembering his other friend Kai Hiwatari.

Rei sat quietly thinking sadly 'I wonder what _this_ school will be like, Mother didn't really want me to go; she said she would visit in a few weeks to check up on me…..' he studied his nails scratching off the remaining red nail polish from them, scraping them with his teeth just to make sure.

**&**

'Everyone has their secrets you just have to know where to look…'the slate haired teen thought leaning against his locker beside his taller crimson haired friend.

"Yes you do Kai but sometimes they don't stay where they were the last time you looked….sometimes the more you search the deeper they're buried…" the crimson haired Tala mused as if knowing exactly what Kai was thinking.

"Hn …" Kai replied nonchalantly, only half listening.

"Will Boris still be there?" Tala asked slipping Kai his medication…….

**&**

It was lunch before Takao walked into school, his face covered with crimson bruises.

Max knew something was up; it had been the second time this had happened in the past week and Takao had been moody and aggressive the week before but he had just put that down to his anxiousness over his older brother Hiro had come home after several years travelling the world with their father on archaeological digs.

"What happened Takao…?" Max questioned him.

"Nothin'…" he forced out through gritted teeth.

'Why is it always like this, Tyson's too stubborn for his own good sometimes, ok maybe all the time' Max thought.

"Who's that?" Takao asked him, obviously trying to change the subject though Max let it slip, pointing across the yard to a raven haired boy sitting on one of the swings.

"Oh that's Rei he's new" Max replied taking a bite out of his lunch "You seen Kai or Tala on ya way here? I need to talk to them".

"Come on Maxie talk to 'em next lesson dude, you know he's a lot easier to talk to after his second dose…" Takao ideally played with his cap.

"TAKAO! You imbecile you know too right Kai doesn't talk at all after the second dose…gah I'm surrounded by idiots!" exclaimed Max pulling at his blond hair.

"Join the club" said a quiet voice behind them. They turned around it was Tala and Kai, Kai had a vacant stupefied look on his face even his white scarf hung limply against his back as he slowly followed at Tala's heel 'OK I guess I'll have to talk tomorrow anyway' Max thought disappointedly.


	2. Broken Porcelain

**Max:**No Nari-sama doesn't own Beyblade or any of the characters except Rei's Grandpa and Mother; that's not much to lay claim to how sad, who would want to own Rei's Mother! honestly she's sooo mean poor poor Rei T.T

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 2 Broken Porcelain

Rei swung gently back and forth thinking. His grandfather had rung him at Recess and it had been plaguing his mind ever since.

_Rei put his cell to his ear "Wei?..." he said not knowing who it was._

'_Rei, this is your Gu Fu, I'm sorry to be calling I know you would be at school at the moment but I needed to tell you something important…' His Grandfather replied._

"_What's wrong Ye Ye?...Is it Mu Qin?" Rei queried worried if something was wrong with his mother making him go home to them…_

'_No, no Rei, nothing's wrong though it is something to do with your mother' he explained_

"_What is it Ye Ye?"_

'_Your Mu Qin left this mourning I tried to keep her here but she was adamant that she wanted to see you…I'm sorry'_

"_Don't worry Ye Ye it's not your fault when she gets an idea in her head there's no stopping her at all… not even the gods could stop her" Rei sighed _

'_I hope Sun Zi that you will be able to deal will her on your own, she will most likely try to take you home with her'_

"_Don't worry I'll be all right"_

'_Just be careful Rei she becomes unstable easily you know that'_

"_Yeah I will I know better than anyone what she's like."_

'_OK then I will phone you in a few days'_

"_Okay Bai Bai Ye Ye"_

'_Yeah Zai Jian' and with that Rei hung up._

Why was Mother coming just when he'd just started feeling comfortable on his own?

He stood up from the swing sneaking one last glance at the group of boys sitting in front of him. Even though he had only met Max he felt a kind of connection with them that he couldn't explain, like something was tugging towards them for some reason, what Nai Nai would call fate.

'Well I have a free so I might as well get this over with now "It's better to have some pain now than a lot of regret later" as Uncle Xun would say' he thought walking out of school.

The city was old filled with a lot of buildings from the 70's or 80's, Rei lived in a small flat above a convenience store right next to the industrial sector. To get home Rei had to travel along the bank of a giant concrete drain the residents called Bey River, garbage and old tyres floated by with it running through the centre of the city there was a constant stench of death and decay wafting through the streets around noon.

Rei looked down at his reflection in the murky green water. He looked tired and weary with dark circles forming around his amber eyes. He'd never liked his hair it reminded Rei too much of Mother and her wishes he mould into what ever she desired.

'And I let her…I could have stopped her…' he thought sadly 'Father might still be here if I had just kept him away from home.

_Images of crimson flashed before his eyes, amber eyes so similar to his staring up at the sky blankly. _

_A seven year old Rei sat next to his near dead bleeding father clutching a red bandana, it had been his birthday and his father had only given it to him hours earlier, crystalline tears slipping down his face. _

'_No Baba you can't, you can't leave me you promised' Rei whispered his voice hacking and sobbing. _

_In the doorway of the hut stop his mother, Rei just sat there not wanting to let his father go. _

'_What are you doing! Get up off the floor and stop snivelling like a dog or I'll make you one' she threatened kicking him in the ribs 'HA Like father like son'._

Rei looked up from his reflection and stared up to the sky as if he could sense someone watching over him from above. Taking off his backpack he pulled out a pair of scissors.

"No more it must end now I am not her pretty little doll anymore" He said to no one fitting the start of his bound hair between the blades and cut careful to miss his bandana. "No, this can go on no more…I will live my own life" he whispered, walking away letting the cut hair fall away into the digusting water where his reflection just was.


	3. Cotton Wool

Rei: Yes Nari does own anything well she owns HIM but no one knows who HE is so yeah bye... (runs off to stop Tala killing him)

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 3 Cotton Wool

Kai stared at the pictures taped to the wall, splashes of red surrounded next to a black figure it's human he knows that he can picture them in his mind clearly but it will never come out as anything over than black smears on the paper.

In his left hand he held three pills each a different colour and shape, Boris made him take them and if he didn't he would HE would come out, Boris knew who HE was and would force HIM to kill again and Kai would be forced to watch. Kai hated the killing but he could take it, it was afterwards that kept him from sleeping…

Kai got up from his bed and picked up the small plastic cup of water on his desk swallowing the drugs he surveyed his room.

'It's more like a cell in a mental institute ehehee everything soft and tapered with no hard edges even the walls are padded' he thought in disgust. Every wall fitting was flush against the walls and ceiling so you couldn't hang anything from it and the only colours in the room came from his pictures and wood of the desk everything else was either black or white.

Lying back down again, he felt the drugs start to take effect with a fuzzy feeling coming over his head making his brain feel like it was wrapped in cotton wool. Kai looked over to his bedside table where a photo stood; two ten year old boys stood both wearing green military uniforms and red berets, a metal hanging off the smaller one's chest, it looked like a day of celebration though neither boy was smiling.

In the room next to Kai's Tala sat at his desk writing out both of their homework, long ago he had found that Kai wasn't capable enough to do his own school work because of his medication no matter how many times the teachers berated him for it Kai could never get his home work done.

Looking up from the 2000 word essay he had been working on for the past three hours straight he got up and stretched his sore legs and back, pulling off his reading glasses he rubbed the tiredness from his cerulean eyes.

"Ahhhh… must be time to check on Kai by now" He said to himself winching as his back cracked back into place he looked at the luminous red digits of his alarm clock on the floor next to his bed, it was only 6 O'clock at night; the sun had only started going down from what he could see through the bars of his window.

'Felt way later than that' Tala thought 'Oh well at least I'll be able to finish this before Boris comes back at orders us to train until we drop'.

He reorganized his writing into two piles for later and changed out of his uniform.

Looking in his mirror he felt disgusted at himself eyeing over the claw marks raked over his pale chest shaking his head he tried to pushed memories out of his mind and focus on trying to protect Kai. Quickly he pulled an orange long sleeved t-shirt over his head so he didn't have to see them and mentally went over all of the medications Kai took as he finished getting dressed.

'Ritalin for ADHD, Zoloft for panic disorder and depression, Lithium for Bipolar Disorder and MPD' Tala thought laughing to himself at the amount of drugs Kai takes when he could probably be cured of most of them with a couple years of good therapy.

Closing his door he took out his ID card from his pocket and swiped it through the scanner next to Kai's door. Upon hearing the door hiss Tala pushed it open, he needn't worry about guards or security Kai had long ago destroyed the cameras and Boris rarely sent guards down to their level.

"Kai you awake" He called.

A half asleep "Hmmm…" called back in reply.

"Ok I guess not…" he said walking over to Kai, who was all but asleep, and propped him on his side, incase he threw up, and covered him with his dark blue blanket.

"If you ever survive pasted 20 Kai you owe me!" Tala commented as he finished shifting Kai's feet.

He lifted his hand to wipe his sweat away and almost screamed when he saw the blood smeared across it. Tala looked down at his shirt, thin crimson lines crisscrossed it and he felt a small trickle run down his back.

'Damn, must of broken them again I thought they had sealed over' he thought going back to his room.

Taking off his shirt he saw his scars that had been sealed had broken open again and were oozing droplets of blood. Grabbing a towel off the ground Tala wiped it away he had inkling that they might be getting infected.

"Stupid I shouldn't have accepted his deal in the first place STUPID STUPID IDIOT TALA" he screamed tears sliding down his cheeks "There could've been another way but no you took the easy way like always…how can I protect Kai when I can't even protect myself?" he slammed his fist into the mirror slumping to the floor not even caring about the splinters of glass slicing into his fingers.

Tala pinched his forehead "Come on get a hold of yourself what would Kai think if he saw you like this…" he berated himself, wiping away his tears he got up bandaged his gashes and put on another clean shirt, black this time, and went back to work trying to push the thoughts out of his mind.

Kai was having a worse time even with the medication he still couldn't stop the memories returning again.

_Her eyes shined ruby red just like his Mother's but he could still not stop HIM from doing IT, from feeling the dried blood under his nails, from seeing dismembered limbs lying around the corridor like they had been torn apart by rabid dogs…no he could never stop HIM when HE felt the urge to kill…never._

"_HEY FREAK DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME WHEN I'M TALKING" Hiromi screamed as he turned his back on her, she had been yelling at him about not doing the work and bringing everyone else's grades down, he had never liked her there never seemed a time when she talk at a normal volume, she was a cheerleader, popular and smart._

'_Something I'll never be' he thought, he could feel HIM at the back of his mind Kai could hear HIM thinking he knew it wouldn't be long before HE took over and IT would begin._

_And IT did Kai, if it was possible, disliked this memory the lease out of most of the times HE took over if only because it was one of the rare times that he didn't see IT happening; when he woke up he was lying in a pool of blood and he could feel the blood on his face and hands._

That was when he woke up "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" rushing out of bed to the toilet he threw up mouthfuls of bile.

Tala ran in "Kai! What wrong?" he asked as Kai collapsed on the floor "It's OK Kai HE's not here shhh it's Ok nobody hurt it's just a memory" Tala hugged him rubbing his back just like all the other times he'd woken up screaming.

Tala knew if no one was there when he woke up Kai could do something drastic; he had to be there because they were like brothers no matter what they were there for each other until the end they were all they had.


	4. Counterfeit Identity

Hiya Peoples Readers, I'm glad to present the latest installment of ATL

Rei: Yeah she doesn't own it V.V (runs away into a bomb shelter to escape rabid fangirls of doom)

**All That's Left**  
Chapter 4 Counterfeit Identity

Arriving home Rei stepped into his small dank second floor flat, even in the middle of the day it was complete darkness inside. Closing the door behind him Rei dropped his bag near the entrance and he began to undress; slipping off his school jacket and polo shirt he walked down to the single bedroom shirtless.

When he walked back into the lounge room he was only wearing a black singlet and red sweat pants; with droplets of water running down his face from his raven hair and a plush blue towel hung over his thin shoulders.

'All I can do now is wait…' he thought tiredly. Hours wasted away without any sign of his mother and Rei had given up waiting for her if she was going to turn up at all.

Picking up his keys he walked to the front door, pulled an athletics jacket off the coat rack and slipping on his trainers. Taking a quick look out of the one smog filled window he could see that it was starting to get dark.

Rei's patience quickly ran out 'I GIVE UP I'M SICK OF PLAYING HER GAMES' he screamed mentally, storming out of his flat he slammed the door pulling one of the flimsy hinges off the wall but he didn't care anymore.

He ran, where? He didn't know or care, he just felt the need to run that is what he'd always done when he had a problem why would this time be any different. Tears streamed down his face mixing with the water still trickling out of his damp hair.

Memories flooded his mind from the last few years, as the grey overcast sky speckled the ground with rain, painful memories he'd tried to hold back for years.

_Mother forcing him into a beauty contest when he fourteen…his closest friends had betray him when they saw him there, he had met them in Hong Kong six years earlier at a gymnastics competition, it tore his heart out when they wouldn't listen to him at all Gao, Kiki but most of all Lee and Mariah not only had they been his best and only friends but also an escape from his overbearing Mother. They had deserted him in a time of need…Lee had even accused him of being gay and trying to get with him._

Pushing through a throng of people he kept on running even though his amber eyes continued to stream tears blinding him to things going on around him, all he saw were the memories and all he felt was the pain everyone caused to him when ever they got too close.

_Father dying…Zhan…Uncle Hu kissing him when he was eleven…his only true friend Uncle Xun killing himself a year ago…everyone either hurt him or died when they got too friendly with him, the only one's left were his grandparents and they didn't have long._

Rei slowed as he reached the pier he had always liked the sea he admired it; it reminded him of himself somehow, deep and shallow at the same time the ability to be two contrasting elements at the same time, calm and peaceful one second churning anger the next, destroying lives or supporting them it was fate what happened either way.

He stare into the black rippling water at his reflection dripping wet, soaked from the rain his bandana had slipped down covering his eyebrows. Peeling it off he stared, he hadn't looked at himself since walking home, he looked similar et different at the same time. Rei's long raven bangs fell over his face and stuck from the rain and tears.

"Who am I anymore? Am I only what others want me to be?" he whispered to himself exhaustion seeping into him.

"You're mine Rei of course where did you get an idea you were anything else then what I desire you to be" a deep purring voice said behind him, turning around he saw it was…

"Mother what are you doing here?" Rei nearly growled.

"Rei dear I your mother I have a right to an input in your life, don't you think my dear child" she said running her fingers through her long raven hair, her emerald eyes laughing.

"YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER AND NEVER WILL BE FANG XUEYUN YOU NEVER HAD THE RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF THAT AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He screamed his anger rising over his exhaustion.

"Now now Rei that's mean a few days away from home and already you think you can run your own life honestly son come home you need me you know you do" she caroled smugly.

"I DON'T NEED YOU! I HATE YOU BITCH YOU RUIN MY LIFE AND CHASED AWAY MY ONLY FRIENDS" Rei yelled to her face calming himself a little "Just accept it you have no role in my life anymore I HATE YOU AND I HOPE YOU DIE!".

"Oh my! What have they done to my poor Rei Rei you were so obedient and quiet before you must have seriously hurt your head if you can't remember what a good mother I was, they must have brainwashed you against me" she stroked his face "Oh well that won't take long to undo" she purred.

Rei's fist clenched at his sides.

"Yes not long indeed…"

His hand raised and before he realized it had it happened

_SLAP!_

The sound echo around them, Rei couldn't believe it he had actually hit his mother and he couldn't stop himself from saying what he felt, right there he didn't fear her anymore and he didn't care what happened.

"How pathetic I was never your obedient little doll I only what you said because I was afraid and I certainly haven't been brainwashed, you think just because I'm finally going against you it's some evil conspiring plot pathetic idiot you're the one who can't deal with life on your own GET OVER YOURSELF AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" he found himself screaming at the top of his lungs, he stared at her the look of smugness had vanished and her eyes held a look of both hurt and anger but also surprise.

Rei clenching his fist hard around his bandana he ran. This time he knew where he was going; he didn't want to go back to his dank and smelly flat but it was the only place he had.

He ran with his amber eyes straight ahead to stop himself looking back because he knew if he did he would take it all back no matter how much of it he truly meant and that s something he knew he'd really regret.


	5. Fighting the Wind

**Mmmm still stuck on ch15 folks my Naruto fics are bugging for updates as well thats what I get for being on hiatus for 7 months lol. Anyway thanks for the review Suzanne!  
**

**  
**Max: Nari doesn't own anything fortunately (See's her going to her computer) _gulp_...I just remembered I had some training to do yeah...(runs as fast as Tyson to an all you can eat smorgasbord)

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 5 Fighting the Wind

Rei again sat downcast on the old swings before school. He was very confused, he felt happy that he'd finally told his mother his what he thought but at the same time another part of him felt depressed at being do hard on her.

'I know what she did to me all those years was terrible but she's my Mother I shouldn't have been so harsh on her' he thought remembering her face when he had told her, 'She needs to get over herself she wanted to control you…turn you into her little dolly' a small voice voiced at the back of his mind. Rei shook his head he didn't know what to do or feel and listening to little voices in the back of his head weren't going to help.

"Internal conflicts too Rei" he heard someone behind him say, turning around he saw Max and two other boys he'd seen with the blondeyesterday; one with spiked slate blue hair, the other with crimson.

"You're Max right?" Rei questioned him, slightly confused.

"Yeah I thought you looked like you needed some friends Kurohashi Secondary isn't exactly a place that you can survive on your own, us loners got to stick together hmm!" Max replied shaking his head "Oh by the way this is Kai Hiwatari and Tala Ivanov" he pointed to his friends.

"Yeah you're in all my classes how much of a coincidence could that be?" Rei quipped.

"Well actually nothing is a coincidence Rei everything can be worked out through science" Tala said sarcastically.

"Tala stop being a dick, just coz you take physics doesn't mean you throw can stupid scientific philosophy at us all the time" Max retorted playfully punched the red head in the arm.

Kai mouthed something no one but Tala could hear. "Takao are gonna just stand over there all day or are ya going to introduce yourself?" He announced out of nowhere. A teenage boy about Rei's age came out from behind one of the trees lining the edge of the school yard; his navy blue hair tied back in a ponytail and covered with a blue and red baseball cap, his uniform scruffy and undone revealing his black Thrice t-shirt under his blue school jacket, his ears covered in piercings and a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips.

"What's up your ass Tala can't a guy ever listen to a conversation in peace without your little guard dog yapping" Takao spat, his mouth curved into a smirk, as he walked towards the four boys.

"Kai's no one's dog! YOU HEAR ME KINOMIYA!" Tala screamed pushing him to the ground.

"Oh hit a soft spot did I? heh honestly you'd think you's two were going out or something…all the time you spend together and all hehee" Takao continued to bait him, getting back on his feet he moved closer.

"Just walk away Tala he's just baiting you…calm down ok I can defend myself" Kai whispered.

"So the prophetical son finally speaks! So Kai what's it like getting fucked by Tala all the time?" Takao laughed.

"Takao that's going too far-" Max was cut off by Kai

"Go to class Max this is between us you don't want to be there when Bryan and Ian arrive" Tala warned him, Max catching his undertones.

"Yes let him continue Max it's nothing I haven't heard before…" Kai said turning his back on the blue haired teen and started to walk to the school buildings when

"Coward…you have everyone else to fight your battles for you..." Takao yelled at his retreating form as Tala slammed his fist into Takao's guts "Ahhhhh…" he groaned a drop of blood running down from the corner of his mouth, "You're nothing to me or anyone else for that matter you know that Kai…you're NOTHING!".

'_You're nothing Kai and that is all you will ever be' Boris laughed as a six year old Kai struggled against the restraints as the doctors inserted needles in his arms._

Kai stopped dead "I am not nothing…" he gasped, he could feel HIM stirring at the back of his mind…no he couldn't allow it not here with Max there.

"Tala?..." he whispered clutching his head as the pounding intensified.

"Crawling home to Daddy are you, I wouldn't be surprised you're just a wimp like I thought, you try to hide behind your loner tough guy routine but you're just cowardly little dog begging Tala's heels ehehehe" Takao laughed again not knowing the danger he was in.

Rei looked on confused at what he was witnessing, unsure whether to intervene or run away and stay out of it all, from what he's seen yesterday he was sure that Takao was one of Max's friends and Max had introduced Tala and Kai as his friends as well so why would he say those things to Kai.

'Unless…Zhan he'd acted the same way after his father…" he remembered back to when he was only 8 and had just started middle primary back in his home town of Lao Hu Zhua.

_He'd found Zhan drowning a kitten in the river; Rei had just gotten out of school for the day and was walking home when he had spotted his best friend he ahdn't been at school for the last week and Rei was starting to get worried that Zhan had forgotten about like everyone else. _

'_Wei Zhan… what ya doing?' he had asked twice without reply._

'_Meow…meow…' the kitten meowed weakly in the boy's small hands trying with the last of its meager strength to escape from him._

'_STUPID CAT!' Zhan screamed going to smash its skull against a nearby rock only to have Rei snatch it from his grasp._

'_What is wrong with you Zhan it's just a kitten what's it ever done to you stop!" Rei yelled at his friend._

'_Weak everyone…so weak why should someone protect that damn cat when they never lifted a finger to protect me hehehe' the brunette laughed, it was then that Rei noticed the bruises on his arms and legs, it had been summer and he had only been wearing shorts and a t – shirt. _

A few weeks later Zhan showed up dead he'd been beaten to death by his father.

Rei focused on the present 'No matter what happened back then I can't get involved…even if that's happening I don't even know the guy plus I've got my own problems to deal with'.

From where Tala was standing he could see that Kai had regained his composure but still something was off about his appearance his posture was perfectly rigid unlike his normal slightly bent over head bowed…even though it was a small change Tala still had a niggling feeling that something was wrong.

"HeheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA" Kai laughed insanely "You really believe I would be a weakling child like you" he turned and faced Takao "HA you're the coward Takao thinking you can torment people that you thought were weaker than you".

Takao stared at him confusedly "You're not Kai, he would never talk back…"

"Very perceptive Sherlock of course I'm not this Kai you speak idiot…Now you will die foolish boy" He said his blood red eyes stared Takao down soulless and empty of all emotion.

With two quick steps he had his nails dug into Takao next just about to rip his throat out when Tala slammed into both of them.

"You know Nikolai that may have been Takao but I'm not going to let you ruin Kai's life anymore than you already have!" he screamed.

Takao lay frozen in the dirt shocked at what he was seeing 'So that's why he takes meds!' Takao thoughts ran in a loop around.

"YOU FREAK I'M OUT TA HERE" he screamed running from the others as fast as he could in his baggy jeans.

Kai lay on the ground trying to regain his bearings "Uhhhh Tala what…happened…did I…?" he slurred almost incoherently.

"No Kai…come let's get to class and forget about Takao's rudeness ok" Tala suggested.

"Takao's face is rude" Kai murmured tiredly.

"Good you're back to normal for a minute there I thought I'd have to check if your scarf wasn't on too tight" Tala laughed.

"HEY just because I'm a little out of it doesn't mean you can diss the scarf Red Haired Albino!" The slate haired teen faked indignation as he lent against Tala.

Rei stood up and walked over to the pair. "Um…what was that all about?" he asked them, none of what happened having seeped through to him.

"You didn't get any of that…?" Tala questioned.

"No…" Rei shook his head "I'M FROM CHINA OK GET OVER IT OK!" he screamed "Don't blame me for my lack of linguistic skills"

Tala looked on stunned as the raven haired boy continued to rant, Kai on the other hand was trying to suppress his laughter by pressing his face into Tala's sleeve.

"AND WE DON'T EAT CATS WHO EVER MADE THAT UP SHOULD BE SHOT AND FED TO MAN EATING TIGERS…CHINA WILL RULE THE WORLD BECAUSE WE ARE THE LARGEST ECONOMY AND HAVE THE MOST PEOPLE BUT WE WON'T RULE RUSSIA COZ IT'S TOO COLD …_hack cough gasp_" Rei ended his rant gasping for air.

"Good thing you won't rule Russia Rei" Kai said between laughs.

"Why?..."

"Because we're gonna rule Russia mhuahahahaha" Kai cheered and started a chant about world domination.

"Don't mind him he's just in his manic phase" Tala sighed and rolled his eyes at his best friend's behavior.

As the three teens approached the door to their home group they heard shouting from inside…


	6. Sunset Heart

**Well I don't own Beyblade or the characters (except my own!) or much else for that matter. I do own the poem at the start though it's an excert from **_**Blinding Shadows,**_** a beyblade poem if you want to read the whole thing then go to **_**Ashes.**_

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 6 Sunset Heart

_In this lonely misery it seems  
I'm talking to myself again  
and nobodies listening_

_The candle has burnt out long ago  
But there is still a red flame consuming me  
This isn't what I want to be  
I try to hide  
From my anger that burns a firestorm inside_

Max sat at his desk listening to music waiting for the others to get to class, he had been thinking about Takao not for the first that week.

Slowly the door opened a crack, two pairs of eyes one violet and the other maroon peered into the class from the darkened hallway.

'Uhhh…where are those three?' he thought leaning back in his chair. He felt something vibrate in his pocket, pulling out his mobile he saw the one person he didn't want ringing at this hour 'GOD why won't she just give up!' Max thought he decided to answer it just to tell her that "Emily just give I DON'T LIKE YOU and never did!" he said into the receiver.

'_Good thing I'm not Emily then huh Max and just for the record I don't like you in that way either'_ a male voice on the other end replied.

"OMG I'm so sorry Kyoujyu I didn't mean that for you I really sorry!" Max pleaded forgiveness.

'_That's alright Max you can stop apologizing now you know'_ Kyoujyu said, laughing his head off.

"So Kyou what ya calling for…and another thing WHY THE HELL do you have the orange munchkin's phone?" Max almost screamed into his ear.

'_Well I wanted to see if you were still coming to the memorial tomorrow?..."_ he asked.

"I'll try to get there…I don't know if Father will let me if I ask, I'll try to seek out if he doesn't so don't count on me being there ok" Max sighed, he'd completely forgotten about the memorial on the weekend "Hang on…don't change the subject why do you have Emily's mobile? Come on I'm waiting Kyou!"

'_She's my research partner…_' Kyoujyu said in disgust shuddering slightly '_She thinks that just because we're experimenting on chemical fusion that we're going out seriously she forced to meet her brother you know the one who thinks he's some big baseball star' _

At this point Max swapped ears it was starting to hurt his ear drums just talking about her.

"Yeah just wait 'til Dizzy finds out what she's up to talk about MEOW" he joked.

'_Tell me about it I've been stuck in this restaurant, you know one of the ones the Kingston's own, for the past hour just listening to the two jabbering on about petty stuff honestly Michael talks like he's her girlfriend if I didn't need to call you I'd have gone insane, I forgot my phone or she stole it, either way I had to borrow hers_' Kyoujyu ranted finally gasping for breath.

"Well you know what to do, don't you Kyou?" Max said smirking at the thought.

'_What?...Max you better not be up to something?_' he questioned the blonde suspiciously

"I'm not up to anything I'm just thinking that you could ditch the Citrus Queen and bail on her make her pick up the bill" Max explained smirking even eviler than before.

'_Ok I think I'll take your advice! Bye Maxie' _

"Yeah bye Kyou give my hate to Emilykins will you seeya" and with that Max hung up, slipping his phone into his pocket and his MP3 player into his backpack he decided to go look for Tala, Kai and Rei he thought they had been gone too long, the door was slightly ajar.

'Odd' Max thought 'I'm sure I closed it oh well' he pulled the handle…

White paint splashed down Max's front covering his hair, face right down to his knees making look almost like a ghost. To Max what happened next was more important.

For the half empty tin snagged on his locket ripping the gold chain from his slender neck and pulling it to ground with it; landing on top of the piece of fragile gold jewellery.

"NOOOOOOOOO" He screamed lunging for the locket grabbing the paint tin he threw it against the wall to get to the precious item. 'No don't let it be broken not Mom's locket please' sifting through the pool of paint in the doorway, the picture side remained relatively intact with only cracks in the glass and dents in the intricately engraved gold casing though the other half was a different story the hinge had smashed ripping the lid off and the thin metal had been flattened.

"Hehehehehe you should have seen your face Mizuhara seriously" a voice laughed the figures face concealed by the shadows but Max knew who had done this to him. Carefully picking out the remnants of the locket he placed them safely in his bag.

"You get off on this stuff don't you Bryan hurting people to make yourself feel better about your own insignificant life! Heh" Max asked the violet haired boy fire burning in his sky blue eyes.

"What the fuck are you talking about Mizuhara?" Bryan said eyeing off the blonde warily.

"I'm talking about this and all the stuff you have purposefully done over the last 10 years to make my life here a living hell Kuznetsov!" He yelled at the Russian; grabbing the taller boy's collar Max threw him into the classroom slamming the door closed.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM BLONDIE?" Bryan screamed at him shakily getting back on his feet.

"MY PROBLEM IS YOU KUZNETSOV!" Max yelled slamming his fist into Bryan's face "WHY DON'T YOU TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE FOR ONCE BRYAN AND STAY DOWN!" Max pummeled into the Russian; all the hate and anger from the years of bullying he'd imposed on him, all the pain and loneliness, the desperate need for acceptance when everyone of the few friends he had abandoned him…all because of Bryan and his stupid games…

"WHY ME HUH? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PICK ON ME OF ALL PEOPLE THERE WAS PLENTY OF OTHERS! WHY? BRYAN WHY?" Max cried, he remembered the his first day of school in Japan.

'_Why Mommy…why did Daddy hit me? Does he hate me?...' a five year old Max asked his mother tears rolling slowly from his eyes._

'_No….honey he's just stressed out from work that's all coming to Japan has put a lot on his plate dear' Judy reassured her son kissing on the forehead 'Your Father loves us very much' refusing to let her own tears fall._

'_Mommy...?' The blonde whispered 'Am I dumb?'_

'_No dear not at all…why?' she asked him._

'_A boy at school said I was stupid cos I have blonde hair' he said still crying. Picking up her son Judy hugged Max tightly as tough if she let him go he's disappear._

'_No never let anyone tell you you're stupid you can be anything you want to be if you put your mind to it' she reassured him 'your hair colour has nothing to do with it! Now promise me Max you'll never listen to anything the bullies say ok' _

'_Ok Mommy' Max whispered._

He'd tried to do as he'd promised her all those years ago but after primary school things just escalated Bryan trying everything to ruin his life in school until the point where he feigned sickness everyday to try to stay home from him but his Father wouldn't have anything to do with it and told him Max he was a weakling and needed to toughen up.

"MAX! GET OFF HIM!" Tala shouted grabbing his arm before he could land another punch to the battered teen beneath him.

Max stared at the violet haired teen, he could feel the blood trickling down his fingers and splattered on his shirt.

Staring down at Bryan, Max felt numb inside like a dam had burst inside of him and he had nothing left, inside he asked himself 'What came over me?' he fought his urge to throw up, trying quickly as possible to push himself away from Bryan lying there bloodied and unconscious against the wall.


	7. Sleeping Through the Day

**Rei: Yes Nari does not own anything! MHAUAHAHAHAHA what don't look like that!**

**Max: there there Rei I know how you feel buddy first their your friends and then when you act like them and they stare at you funny**

**Rei: T.T**

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 7 Sleeping Through the Day

'What's going on with us? Ever since that day everything's been different' Tala thought sadly 'Why does this always happen just when we start to get comfortable everything changes' he sighed 'I wish I could do to Boris what Max did to Bryan heh now that would be good'.

Tala picked out his favorite blue pen from the draw and closed it. Opening the black note book, he started to write.

_18:34, Saturday, October 18th 2006 _

_Hmm where to begin it's been soooo eventful, well Max hasn't been back to school in the last two weeks he's been at court after what he did to Bryan, the police charged him with Assault, the Courts' well they found him guilty and all but because of the circumstances and also coz he didn't intend it to happen they let him off with a three year suspended sentence and a good behavior bond, it helped he's only 16 he'd go to juvie anyway. Bryan ended up in a coma, it doesn't look like he's going to wake up anytime soon either._

_Kai's getting down he thinks Max has abandoned us again though Rei has stopped him going into total depression. I think Kai likes him, in that way as well too. He's spending a lot of time with him. With Kai spending time with Rei it's kind of lonelier than before at least when Kai went mute there was Max to talk to._

_Anyway Boris has been P. over our latest test results, he's strutting about saying we've brought shame to him and the company, just because my electrolyte count and nerve impulse tests were low and Kai failed his physical exam supposedly he's too short for his age. God! These scientists are so petty I tell you!_

_Tala Ivanov_

Tala finished by signing his name at the bottom of the page. Closing his journal he sighed 'I need some vodka' Tala thought getting up off his chair. Walking tiredly over to his bed he shoved his journal underneath the mattress at the head of the bed and flung himself down on the lumpy material, cold metal and springs poking into his back making him to lie on his side in the thin groove molded there after years of it being found to be the only comfortable way of sleeping.

'Ahh the joys and comforts of having Boris as your legal guardian' he thought sarcastically, turning out his light. Putting his fingers to the white stone caressing a small engraving in the wall, a tear rolled slowly down his cheek.

Max sat on his bed looking out his bedroom window up at the moon. He'd been grounded by his father and he was barred from school as well until the end of the week.

'Yet life continues…' Max thought throughly bored "Ehhh a singlet and shorts aren't really good to wear in October…" he shivered closing the window.

Max rolled over 'That's weird…' he thought looking over at the photos grouped on the mantel piece above the open fire place had frosted over 'the fire going…'. Picking up the two photos he wiped the fog off with his palm, he remembered these pictures one was of his mother and himself when his cousin Miriam had died, the second showed Max, Tala and Kai when they'd first met he'd only been 13.

"Now I'm creeped out…ow" Max whispered and cringed as he felt a small pain in his ear before it went away "hehehe someone must be talking about me…" he smirked. Putting the photos back on the mantle he turned his light off so only his bedside lamped shone in the darkness.

Max bent down and pulled something out from under his bed, getting back up he held his school backpack. Out of it he took a set of keys and a thick bright orange hard cover book. Unlocking it with the keys he turned it to a blank page.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today has been like all the others these last week after the court proceedings (stupid lawyers) they found me guilty of cause a blind man could see I was (duh). Father wasn't very happy as you can imagine, I've been grounded for three months considering it's him I thought he went easy on me._

_I hate this! This nothingness of not knowing anything of what's going on! All forms of communication shut off. GAHHH! These last two weeks have been hell! No Tala! No Kai! No Rei! (Even though I only knew him one day he's still a friend). Not only that I got a hand injury from all that punching! (And my over use of exclamation points!) My hands are killing me (seriously why am I writing this then?) _

_BREAKING NEWS it has been confirmed viewers Max Mizuhara has gone postal! _

_No Internet No TV (No Tala) Make Max go crazy. Maybe I should sneak out even if it's only for half an hour I really need to get out or I will go insane. I UNDERSTAND WHAT I DID WAS WRONG BUT THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT PEOPLE! (Yes I am banging my head against the wall)_

_M. M 18/10/06 _

Max closed his diary and locked it up again. Leaning back he pressed his aching head against the glass window pane. This was the only method to relieve his frustration and had been reduced to ranting about three times a day for his only source of entertainment.

"Hmm…" he sighed "What was that?" he was amazed to see someone actually outside in this weather but they were indeed jogging "Is…that…Rei?"

Quickly he put on his pants and a thick jumper and slipped on his sneakers. Opening his window he climbed out backwards out of it, holding onto the gutters he traveled down the roof tiles careful not to slip it was a long way down. Sliding down the tiles grabbing hold of a ladder he'd placed there long ago.

Now on the ground he could see who he thought was Rei running down the end of the street and turn off down an alley.

'What's Rei doing in the suburbs? He doesn't know where I live and its not exactly anywhere near his neighborhood!' Max thought running down the backstreet behind his house. Max held his chest 'Why do people always have to run…' he gasped clutching his side as a stitch came.

Coming up to the alley he slowed and walked quietly to the entrance careful not to be seen in case Rei as still there. Peering in the alley way he saw two figures in the dark…


	8. Lingering On The Memory

**As always thanks everyone who reviews it makes me extremely happy just to get one!**

**I don't own anything except Yuri and Sveta YAY GO THE HIWATARI'S **

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 8 Lingering On The Memory

_'...If you'd let somebody love you just enough  
You'd have everything you'd need to break  
Free from all your pain...' _

_(Songbird by Bernard Fanning) _

Kai sat in class staring blankly at the black board. He'd been stuck in English lesson for an hour and already he was bored. The teacher, Professor Barthez, hadn't taken into account that a lot of the students were barely mastering Japanese let alone any other language.

'When will this torture end! YOU'VE BEEN GOING ON ABOUT IT FOR AN HOUR GAHHHHH!' Kai's tortured mind screamed, his left eye twitching sporadically. He'd been listening to Barthez explained the difference between the different variations of 'there' all lesson in his monotonous voice that had sent most of the class asleep.

"Hiwatari-san would you please name for me the different there's" Barthez ordered smugly.

Kai stood up out of his chair and answered "There, their and they're, honestly Barthez – _sensei _do you teach in Hell because your lesson is torture, your voice sounds like rats gnawing on a human carcass, now that I think about it you stink like a decomposing cat covered in dried dog vomit infested with maggots, you wear the most hideous outfit honestly who ever dresses you must be taken out back and shot, if you don't mind my opinion _Sir" _he smirked how long had he waited to say that his sadistic side laughed evilly 'mhuahahaahahahahaha' no wait that's all of him…

Kai watched as Barthez's face contorted with inner conflict he could visualize the inner workings of his teachers mind right now: kick him out of class or keep him in class and try to torture him for the insolence only to be humiliated by Kai's superior intellect and quick wit. He chose the former.

"GET OUT OF MY CLASS YOU INSOLENT BRAT OUT!" Barthez shouted at the top of his lungs his whole body convulsing with seething anger.

"Yes sir, Gladly _Sensei_" he grabbed his bag smirking Kai walked out the door but not before giving him a salute.

"OUT NOW AND DON'T COME BACK!" Barthez screamed behind him slamming the door in his wake.

Walking down the empty corridor he spotted Rei.

"HEY KAI" Rei called out running up to him "You get kicked out of class again?" he asked.

"Yeah three times this week and it's only Thursday" Kai laughed looking Rei up and down "HEY why are you out of class Rei you're a little goody goody" he stared suspiciously.

"Well…um…you see there wasn't any teacher for this lesson so they left Oliver in charge…yeah and he got kind of offended that I was better at cooking than him…" Rei squirmed as Kai started laughing "HEY IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Yeah it's not…it's hilarious!" Kai exclaimed clutching his diaphragm. Rei looked at him; something wasn't right - Kai, no matter where he was just didn't wonder around without his Red Haired Albino bodyguard following him.

"Where's Tala? Kai" he asked suspiciously.

His laughter faltered, Rei had found him out "What's your point Rei? Do I need Tala following me around at my beck and call for things to be normal?" Kai almost snarled at the Chinese boy "You know nothing!" pushing him away Kai ran, he ran for the only safe place he could think of…the Pier.

Leaning against the light house he watched the waves crash on top of the sea wall it was always his favorite place it reminded him of his father and Tala at the same time.

'Father…' Kai thought sadly staring down into the swirling indigo water, the last time he'd ever seen his dad alive was when he was five years old...no one knew what ever happened to him but most thought Voltaire had something to do with it.

_Tala and Kai had just finished Kindergarten they had been celebrating all day when he had to leave for work._

_His mother was worried 'Yuri please you know what your fathers like…' she pleaded. He shook his head._

'_No Sveta I need to do this Voltaire will have no part in Kai's life if I can do anything about it' Yuri Hiwatari reassured his wife 'Sveta if I don't come back don't let him take the boys no matter what ok I don't want either of them growing up to become dogs of the military on the end of Boris' leash' Yuri lent down kissing Sveta he went to walk outside when Tala and Kai ran up to him._

'_Hey Papa' Kai called to him cheerfully. Leaning down Yuri rustled his son's slate blue hair so much like his own and his mother's crimson eyes contrasting against his emerald. _

'_Hey little man, now Kai I want you to be a good boy for your Mama while I'm gone' he asked wrapping his arms around the boy; tears building in the corners of his eyes. Kai looked up at his father confused but said yes anyway. Getting up Yuri went over to Tala, even though they had adopted him he looked so much like Sveta with his crimson hair. He placed a hand on Tala's shoulder. _

'_Tala no matter what happens to me or Sveta I want you to protect Kai and yourself please' he requested staring into the boy's large cerulean eyes._

'_I'll always protect him Kai we're brothers' the red haired chibi answered puzzled why Yuri would ask him that._

'_You keep yourself alive you hear me bastard' Sveta told him throwing herself at him in an engulfing hug 'I love you and don't you forget it' she pressed her lips against his tears running down her white cheeks._

His father had left and not two days after Boris had come for them with an entourage of soldiers. Even if he didn't know about his father, he definitely knew his mother was dead.

'_Get out Balkov you're never getting either of them you hear me BASTARD!' Sveta had screamed at him through the barricaded door of their basement. 'Come here boys' she said to them, the two crawled over to their mother in the small room full of junk grabbing one of their hands each 'Now I want you to promise me…promise me that what ever happens to me never do what he says!' she ordered._

'_Yes Mama' they both whispered_

'_Mean it there's no way of us getting out of here without going through Boris' goons and I probably won't make it out alive now promise me!' Sveta said sternly._

'_We will Mama' they replied in strong voices._

'_That's my boys, you are strong never let anyone tell you otherwise especially that fucking bastard outside and always remember me and your father love you greatly' She whispered to them enveloping her sons in her arms. That was before the door burst open. Pushing Tala and Kai behind an old bookshelf she protected them from the rain of bullets flying through the room. _

_When the dust cleared their Mother lay on the floor in a pool of blood but still alive slowly she stood up weakly still trying to protect her boys 'Yes Yuri I keep my promises I will protect Kai and Tala as long as I am alive' she whispered gasping for breath 'YOU HEAR ME BORIS YOU'RE NEVER GETTING YOUR SLIMY HANDS ON THEM FUCKING SCUM SUCKING CUNT!' Sveta screamed with all the might she could muster blood dripping down her chin from the corner of her mouth._

_The silhouette of a man appeared in the door way 'The same as always Sveta' the man said in a deep voice._

'_Fuck off Boris' Sveta spat._

'_Hand over them while you're still alive and we may be able to save you' Boris asked smugness radiating from him._

'_Oh shut up…you expect me to believe that crap as soon as I handed them over you'd shot me anyway" she gasped using all the energy she had left just to stand. _

'_Oh well we'll get the boys either way Sveta dear' he sneered caressing her face and whispering in her ear 'You of no use to me anyway'._

_A gun shot rang through the air and their mother slumped to the ground._

'_Get everything ready I'll be waiting outside, be careful not to damage the one with blue hair or you'll suffer a fate worse than death, I'm leaving you in charge Lieutenant Chekhov' Boris ordered one of the soldiers and taking one last glance at Sveta's body he left. _

Tala and himself had been taken by Boris to the Balkov Abbey near Moscow on the order of Voltaire Hiwatari, Kai's grandfather but Kai preferred to just call him bastard he didn't know why though. For the next seven years Kai and Tala went through rigorous military and espionage training but not being satisfied with their natural abilities they experimented on the two trying and most of the time failing to make them stronger and faster so they would be the perfect little soldiers for Biovault. That was until the disastrous mission on the Bukhara-Khiva gas fields in Uzbekistan.

Kai took off his school jacket and put in his bag; even being near the sea in winter he felt warm when he compared it to Russia, underneath he wore a loose black t-shirt and blue wrist bands, a pair of dog tags hung around his neck swayed in the breeze.

'That mission was the reason they put me on all these stupid ass medications and what happened to Tala…' he thought angrily.

_Kai had just turned 12 and Tala was nearly 13 and Kai had been a Kapitan, having just been promoted to company commander, Tala was a Leytenant and second in command, they lead small unit built for guerrilla attacks more than out right assaults consisting of six boys including themselves. _

_Boris himself had ordered them to undertake this mission they didn't know why or care they were only given the Intel on what and who to hit and where nothing else mattered._

'_Kapral Kader are you in position yet? over' Kai said into the two way radio in his native Russian._

'_Not yet Sir, Leytenant Ivanov's spotted some guards in between the south and east entrances should we take them out before we get in position Sir, over' Mystel replied to his CO._

'_Roger, Do not repeat do not attack the guards wait until they leave and take up your positions on the plateau above the southern gate, over' he answered sternly and changed his radio frequency 'Leytenant Seabalt come in, over' _

'_Seabalt here Sir, Petrov and I are in position near the northern entrance, over' the German replied._

_Before Kai could answer Tala radioed in 'KAI! We've been spotted abort operation repeat abort Kader is down' his voice fast and panicky gasping for breath._

'_Tala! Get a grip and meet back up with blue team Leytenant Seabalt and Praporshchik Petrov would have gotten in position be now lay low until you rendezvous, over' Kai ordered calmly. _

'_Roger Sir, over' Tala sighed ending his transmission._

"_Kapral Sokol?" he addressed the officer "how many men would you think would be put on to guard the southern gate?" _

"_10 or so Sir" Mihael replied fiddling with the handle of his Kalashnikov._

"_Good all the men between the south and east gates would have gone around to add extra defense now is the perfect time to strike" Kai explained and flicked his radio to Seabalt 'This is Kaptin Hiwatari, over, Leytenant is Ivanov with your team yet, over' _

'_Roger Sir that's affirmative, over' Garland confirmed_

'_Alright now is the time…no radio contact from here on, move out Leytenant, over and out' Kai ordered _

'_Order received Sir moving out' the radio went dead._

_Kai ran down from the rocky out crop, Mihael following his CO's lead. Kai hid behind a rock firing his Kalashnikov at the guards then continued inside without checking if anyone was alive. Inside stood giant metal bubbles full of gas and other fossil fuels the country depended on to survive, their job – disable the gas pipelines, everything had gone relatively to plan so far no one suspected soldiers their ages unless you were in Africa, Kai, Mihael and Mystel were all 12 while Sergei and Garland were 14 and Tala 13 to the guards they were weak children posing no threat at all not knowing they all had at least 4 years military training and combat experience under their belt._

_Things had started to go wrong when some of the southern guards hadn't gotten radio contact from the north and went to investigate finding most of the men lying on pools of their own blood or fighting for their lives._

_Kai had been left on his own when Mihael had been shot through the head when he'd met up again with Tala near one of the gas cylinders. Bullets flew past their ears and over their heads._

"_AHHHH" Tala screamed collapsing to the ground "My damn leg that bastard must have caught my on the ricochet" he gasped clutching his left knee burgundy blood seeping through his camouflage uniform. Kai ducked down to help his friend when suddenly a bullet whizzed past barely missing Kai only to hit the cylinders behind the two._

_Kai didn't remember what happened next only that when he woke up he was laying next to Tala covered in blood, surrounded by dead bodies and roaring flames. Groggily Kai crawled over to the red head his left arm hanging limply most likely dislocated or broken._

"_Tala please wake up get up we can't stay here" he whispered to his friend weakly shaking him. Kai examined him a heavy wooden beam lay over Tala's left leg…his right leg and arm missing. _

"_Ahhh…" Tala groaned in pain tears running from his cringing eyes. _

_With his one working arm Kai pushed against the beam with all the strength he had left, slowly it slid off inch by inch._

_Gasping Kai dragged Tala from the fire by his only remaining good limb. "Come on Tal' remember…what Papa made us…ah…promise" he struggled to voice "we would look after each other and you said you would…ah…protect…me…how…ah…can ya do that dead…" _

_Reaching the gate Kai collapsed on the rocky desert floor exhausted. _

When his body finally recovered the awarded him a medal of bravery but he never fully recovered mentally he'd lost half his team in that operation…Mystel…Sergei…Mihael all valuable friends and comrades had lost their lives before they had even lived.

Tala had survived, of course, he kept his promise to protect Kai and from then on he took it far more seriously rarely letting the slate haired teen out of his sight.

And with this failed attack eyes were on Biovault, Voltaire moved their operations to Japan and from then on the two were moved out of the military into the experimental research and development department everything had been alright in their minds until Voltaire had been arrested for fraud and Boris was left in charge.

Kai stood up and walked distractedly back to school. 'I should apologize to Rei he didn't deserve that…' he thought, his head bowed. When he got back everyone was out to lunch, finding Rei's locker he got out a sheet of paper from his bag and started writing. His hand shook, his kanji turning out barely legible. In his left hand three pills sat.

Rei went to his locker, it was the end of the day and he'd been thinking of Kai since he ran out.

'Kai what are you thinking all I wanted to know is where Tala was, he didn't have to snarl at me…something's definitely wrong with him…well other than all that stuff' he thought 'What's this?...' a slip of paper floated out of his locker onto the floor.

_Rei, _

_I need to talk, meet you at near the Yamamiya Centre tomorrow night at 7._

_Kai_

Rei squinted to read the note. "Hmmm alright Kai I'll play your game…" he whispered 'all I ever wanted to do was help you…I can wait…'

The next day he just lay in bed thinking about what Kai needed to talk about. Rei zoned out so much he fell off his bed when his alarm went off at half past six.

"Well I guess I should get going it's pretty far…" he told himself, getting dressed. Stepping out of his flat he wore his favorite outfit; black pants and a sleeveless white Chinese style tunic with a red sash tied around his waist.

Checking the map he'd made he had 5 kilometres to go 'The bus it is then' Rei thought solemnly. Getting on the bus people stared at him strangely, some muttering to themselves about young people and their weird clothes these days. He ignored them sitting at the back next to a window…thinking. A part of his mind had been niggling him about Kai.

'I'm…going…insane…well if I wasn't before' he sighed leaning his head on his hand 'I need some Sake and lots of it…how long til I get to my stop' Rei looked down at his watch '20 minutes…this is going to be a long ride'.

Stepping off the bus the doors hissed behind him sharply it was 10 to 7 he was cutting it close 'I'll have to run I've never been late in my life and I'm not going to start now!' his thoughts screamed as he bolted down the street.

Kai leaned against the fence of the alley checking his watch Rei would be there soon. His eyes were closed and arms folded across his chest, his white scarf fluttering around his ankles. Looking up he saw Rei walked down the alley towards him gasping for breath a little.

"Hey" Rei called out. Kai nodded his head "Hmn"

"So…what'd you want to talk about?" the Chinese boy questioned.

"I…wanted to apologize for yesterday I didn't mean to be so rude to you" Kai said turning away from him, Kai's cheeks burning red.

"That's okay…it's just I've never seen you without Tala it just seemed out of place that's all" Rei explained and held out his hand "So friends?"

"Yeah!" Kai laughed "It was kind of silly of me I just hate people thinking me and Tala are joined at the hip"

"Gods imagine if you were twins" Rei exclaimed.

Suddenly Kai pulled him into a kiss before breaking away. Backing away into the fence his eyes shadowed. Kai's lip trembled "I'm…sorry" he whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about Kai" Rei answered and for the first time in years he showed a genuine smile.

"I wish…I could just forget everything…" a defiant tear ran down his face. For the first time Rei understood what Kai wanted…he was just a little boy who wanted someone to love him…even more than him. Rei wrapped his arms around Kai and returned the kiss deeper than before.

Peering into the darkened alley way Max covered his mouth but he couldn't stop the gasp escaping 'Kai…Rei…' his confused brain forced out the images still burning in his mind while another part of him was screaming 'WOOT! GET IT ON' the perverted part obviously, yep he would definitely need therapy after this.

**(1) Garland Seabalt, Sergei Petrov (Spencer), Mystel Kader and Mihael Sokol (Miguel) **

**(2) Kapral – Corporal, Kapitan – **Captain**, Leytenant – Lieutenant, Praporshchik – Master Sergeant (Russian Military ranks) **


	9. Fingers Stained Black

**Thanks everyone who are reading ATL and the folks who reviewed Suzanne and xHitsulover. I hope am uploading chapters 9 and 10 at the same time okays.**

Tala: AHHHH! (screams in relief) THANK GOD AND EVERY OTHER DEITY NARI DOES NOT OWN BEYBLADE

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 9 Fingers Stained Black

'_I smile and pray that someday it'll all just fade away'_

_(Drowning In The Memory by Nari-sama)_

_He couldn't stop him…fingers roaming over his body…the boy felt blind with everything shaded in eternal darkness…down here there weren't any guards there was no one to save him…even if there was they wouldn't have helped the screaming red head…who cared about him except for the younger blue haired boy chained in the corner beaten unconscious. No one…no one cared why should they when he didn't even care what happened to him. He had only been nine…_

Tala squirmed in his sleep pushing away invisible figures only he could see and feel, tears flowing from his eyes.

_Bright blue eyes glowed in the darkness; Tala didn't like those eyes they reminded him too much off his own…he didn't want to be like him. He could never stay…he could never bring himself to watch…the boy left, sure his body was there but his cerulean eyes were empty. 'All for Kai…for Kai, Mama' his mind whispered._

'_TALA!'_ the voice echoed through his head.

He felt almost like someone was shaking him awake. An overwhelming disgust came over him quickly crawled out of he scrambled to the toilet throwing up what little he'd actually eaten that day.

"I really shouldn't eat before I go to bed" the red head said out loud slumped next to the bowl. 'What's going on with me I haven't had them since I was 14…stupid dreams…I wish it was a dream…it was different this time Kai was there again, though how can a memory change stupid' he thought bowing his head sighing 'I don't even understand it which one is real anymore…is any of this real anymore…was it ever' his trail of thought continued in this stream, Tala always seemed to question his existence but more so after The Dreams that was a mild one he'd had worse. Looking down he examined his left hand his fingers stained black 'Well at least I don't need to use my fingers anymore' he thought sarcastically.

He sat there staring at his hands…a little voice at the back of his head taunting him 'It would be easy wouldn't it…no one would care…you've always been a fifth wheel to everyone…you're a nuisance to be passed on from person to person until they just dump you on the street where you belong…'

'TALA COME IN TALA, over' a crackly voice said snapping the red head out of his revelry.

"I know that" Tala thought dumbly before it dawned on him "KAI!" racing over to his bed scrambling to get his two way radio.

'Roger, Kai what's happened where are you, over' he spoke into it.

'_Yeah well like I told you I snuck out to see Rei and well Max kind of saw us and…' _

'WHAT KAI! WHAT HAPPENED TO MAX?' Tala couldn't help but scream.

'_Um…meandreiwerekissingandmaxsawusandhefainted…yeah' Kai mumbled quickly._

'Do not tell me that what you just said is what I think you did' Tala fumed

'_What?'_

'That the two of you were kissing and he fainted!'

'_Yes…'_ Kai replied stupidly.

'Idiot…I'll be there in a second…you're near the Yamamiya Centre aren't you?' his voice stayed calm and collected but at the moment Tala's eyes were twitching 'Over and out' he said and flicked the radio off.

**& & &**

Sneaking out Tala made his way around the guards 'Stupid guards imagine if I was a terrorist or someone breaking in they would be hopeless! Even though they're only the front ones the ones inside are a lot tougher…' he thought. Moving stealthily through the dark he could see perfectly.

Tala moved through the streets of the Mountain suburbs like the wind, he knew the route to where Kai was like the back of his hand.

'Max…why do I get these feelings when ever you're in trouble' the thought ran through his mind.

Tala stopped and looked around 'The entrance has to be around here somewhere…ah there it is' he thought scanning the area for the alleyway. Running down it he saw the outline of two figures in the distance and without thinking he yelled out to them "KAI REI!"

'Finally I made it' Tala slowed down to a walk.

"Tala what took ya so long" Kai's voice ranged through the dark as the crimson haired teen walked up to them.

"So what happened here?…" Tala asked them like two misbehaving children.

"I'm sorry he just fainted I didn't know he was watching" Kai explained to the brooding Russian; whispering in his head 'I would of beat his ass if I did', "but still I don't know why"

"What do you think is wrong with him he's been mumbling in his sleep since you yelled out to us" Rei asked him, kneeling on the concrete path next to Max.

"Come on I'll take him back to his house you's to go home, especially you Kai you know Boris gets backs in a hour get moving I'll deal with this" Tala ordered glaring at the two.

"Ok…Seeya at school" Rei waved goodbye to Tala, and giving Kai a quick kiss before the three parted ways, Kai giving Tala inquisitive look.

**& & &**

Watching Kai walk back down the alley he made sure there was no one around before pulling Max over his shoulder.

"Gah…either you're heavier than I remember or I need to work out more" he gasped carrying the blonde down the potholed street "Yep you need to loose a couple of pounds Maxie those 2 weeks doing nothing have really done you in"

Pushing open the back gate Tala made his way to the back door 'Goodie' the red head thought 'No one home' pulling out a key from his pocket he unlocked it and walked through backwards. Placing Max on the tiled floor he closed it and picked him up again beginning the long climb up the stairs.

'Who ever said a house can never have too many stairs should be filleted and fed alive to piranhas' Tala cursed reaching the top of the two flights of stairs. Gasping for breath he stared around "Now which one is your room again?... oh yeah the black on with all the punk stickers all over it and a big banner saying 'MAX'S ROOM KEEP OUT OR DIE'" he queried.

Kicking the door open he ducked his head going in "Stupid ass sloping ceiling!" Tala grunted banging his head on it twice; sometimes it wasn't an advantage to be tall. Having made his way - lucky not to get a concussion - to Max's bed Tala laid the blonde boy on the mattress and pulled the quilt over him.

He was about to leave when he noticed the windows were wide open leaning over the blonde to close them he heard something, like whispered shouting.

'_Noooo! Don't she had nothing to do with it STOP IT you're hurting her, it was my fault ok' _he whimpered_ 'All my fault…' Max lifted his arms up as if trying to fight an invisible menace off, tears rolled from his closed eyes 'Mommy…'._

Tala lay above the covers looking at his friend sadly wrapping his arms around the mumbling teen Tala placed his lips against Max's softly kissing him. 'So this is how the world ends not with a bang but a whimper' Tala whispered as he closed his eyes.

**& & &**

The next morning Kai sat up in bed he could sense Tala wasn't there, rubbing his weary crimson eyes he got out of bed 'Where are you bro…?' he thought sighing he got dressed in his most hated of all clothes – the school uniform, he'd always hated to conform. Black pants and polyester navy blue jacket with silver buttons. Wrapping his white scarf around his neck Kai grabbed his bag standing on a chair he reached up for the screw driver on the inside of the window sill and unscrewed the inch thick glass panel at the bottom.

After crawling through the small opening he fixed the panel back in place looking around he noticed the sun was barely up 'Must be just going 0800 hours' he thought ducking behind the corner before a guard spotted him.

Kai was slightly scared even though he didn't show it. He'd never walked to school before without Tala and it was a little daunting to him. Hopping over the high fortress like wall in front of the Mansion 'When I see him I'm going to seriously kick his scrawny ass!' he huffed 'BASTARD!...ok that's out of my system…now which way is it to school?'.

Finally after many trials, hobos, man eating unicorns and rabid weed smoking cats chasing him Kai arrived at school walking through the foreboding iron gates he thought he was home free until…

'OH FUCK if that's Takao I'm seriously going to scream!' Kai thought, staring at the boy lying in the tree, a cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Kai couldn't help but scream "MY EVIL TWIN" well he only screamed the last part in his mind.

Takao squirmed in his sleep only to fall face first out of the tree. "FUCK!" the boy yelled rubbing his face running over to Kai he grabbed to Russian's shirt front "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING SCREAMING AT 8 IN THE FUCKING MOURNING DICKHEAD!" Takao yelled in Kai's face spit flying at him.

"What's up with you anyway Takao, sleeping in trees? don't you have a home?" Kai asked softly.

"I got locked out, and what's it to ya Hiwatari it's not like you've ever had a rough day in your life!" the blunette boy taunted sliding his cap back over his hair.

"I've had more than enough 'rough days' in my life Kinomiya" Kai said through grated teeth.

"What do you know Kai about a hard life, sitting up on the mountain in ya swash house while we struggle down here HA" Takao spat.

"I know a whole lot more than you do…Takao do you honestly think just because my family is rich that my life any less hard than yours ...ha you really are a fool" Kai yelled at the blunette

"What the fuck are you on about Kai?" he asked puzzled turning to look at the Russian.

Kai turned away feeling tears from his crimson eyes and hissed "What I'm saying you idiot is that having money has nothing to do with it". Leaving Takao confused Kai walked to lesson his head hung low.

**& & &**

In an old damp hospital room two violet eyes shone in the darkness, the owners lips curled in a malicious smirk.

'Yes I will have revenge Max I will take everything you hold dear...ahahaha...no one beats me and gets off lightly...hehehe' the boy thought laughing madly 'just wait...'

**TBC**


	10. This Isn’t Suicide

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything nope nothing at all not even the voices in my head**

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 10 This Isn't Suicide

_'Heart! We will forget him!  
You and I - tonight!  
You may forget the warmth he gave -  
I will forget the light!_

_When you have done, pray tell me  
That I may straight begin!  
Haste! lest while you're lagging  
I remember him!'_

_(Emily Dickenson)_

Tala wondered the streets, the hood of his jacket covering his head, as he let his feet lead him along the cracked concrete sidewalk…the memories of the night before flowing through his mind. He hadn't known why he'd done it.

'What have I done…?' He thought looking up from the ground. He stood on the street corner near the mansion. 'I might as well go to school I've got nothing else to do…I can't avoid him forever'

Tala jumped the high stone wall landing on his feet he rubbed his legs 'Damn I really shouldn't have worn my buckled pants'. Wriggling the bars out from in front of his window he slid through the unbolted window down into his cell, quickly stripping off his sticky black clothes dropping the fabric randomly over the floor not caring about the mess he was leaving. Tala stepped into the corner pulling with all his strength to get the handle to turn on the sink, hurriedly stepping out of the way as the faucet broke water spraying out in straight jets.

'Lucky I'm only in my boxers…' He thought grabbing a spanner from under his bed, shutting off the pipe. Tala picked up the bucket under the sink from the concrete floor, pulling the flannel towel from the water and squeezed it over him letting the ice cold water run down his body. The red head stared at his fractured reflection in the broken mirror, a dark purple bruise over his left eye was starting to form making his cheek swell he could barely remember where he'd got it from, the cuts across his chest had long since healed leaving thin crisscrossing scars blue and purple bruises overlapping them. 'Idiot…' Tala thought tipping the whole bucket over his head.

**&&&**

Tala walked through the empty school yard. His hands ran through his crimson hair, now darkened to garnet, ringing out the still wet locks droplets running down his neck and face 'Now that was definitely stupid…' he thought wiping his bangs out of his eyes.

Walking into the empty class he thought of what had happened in the very room only two weeks earlier. It was unusual for him to be this early he usually had to help Kai; Tala was used to having Max there to greet him. He sat there at his desk staring blankly into space…his cerulean eyes dull and glassy. He remembered the first time they met, he been besotted by the young boy so shy then shifting in te blink of an eye to cynical and even slightly confident.

It was his first day at Kurohashi Secondary School, it had been just like this. A year after he and Kai moved to the city of Kurohashi in Japan they'd finally been allowed to go to school.

_A young Tala and Kai stepped in the class, both were fourteen years old though Tala being the older of the two by 10 months. Nobody had arrived yet it was only 7:40 in the mourning and the sun was still rising over the horizon. It had been in a lot better condition back then when people actually bothered putting funding into the school before all the millionaires on the mountains decided to send their children to schools in Tokyo. _

_Kai was impatient to get the day over and done with as little social interaction as possible. The slate haired teen sat on the hard plastic chair, tapping his black and red trainer on the floor to an imaginary beat. Time ticked away slowly, the two boys sat there staring nonspeaking at the broken cat shaped clock high up on the gray wall. Soon other students started to trickle in through the corridors looking in as they pasted by, staring at them whispering and giggling behind their hands as they walked by._

'_Um…excuse me…' a timid voice said, Tala lifted his head off the desk top to see a short blonde boy with thick glasses 'I'm really sorry about this but you're in my seat…sorry' _

'_Huh…oh sorry um… I'm new here I didn't know' Tala apologized getting up out of the desk and sat next to Kai in the one behind it, a pale shade of pink tinged the Russian's cheeks. _

'_Did you say you're new? Well I guess you'll need someone to show you around huh?' the blond asked pushing his long bangs out of his cobalt blue eyes._

'_Um…ok why?' Tala questioned him._

'_Well the stupid teacher will bloody put you with someone, most likely one of the wannabe Japanese Idols floating about and trust me you don't want to be around them when they think you have a fashion crisis…' he said shuddering._

'_Yeah…' _

_The blonde held out his hand 'I'm Max Mizuhara by the way' _

_Tala shook it 'Tala Ivanov' the red head replied smiling softly 'and this is Kai…' pointing to the boy next to him still with his head resting against the desk top._

'_Hiwatari, Kai Hiwatari' the boy said smirking, his eyes still closed._

'_So what's there to do in this town' Tala said sitting back grinning slightly and winking._

_From that day on they'd been friends though they'd had a lot of arguments over things, mainly Takao, they'd stayed friends for four years so far. _

A tear slid down his cheek, 'Shit…' he thought looking down at his hand, white paste smeared across it. Running out of class, not noticing the violet haired teen he'd knocked into, Tala headed for the Toilets.

**&&&**

The crimson haired teen pushed the lop sided door open with some effort and letting it swing shut, looking over at the sinks he tried to find one with that wouldn't be considered a bio-hazard.

He didn't hear the door open as he reapplied the pasty white make up around his bruised eye.

"Hello Tala fancy seeing you here…" a voice behind him said, Tala turned around swiftly eyeing Bryan suspiciously. The teen had a bandage wrapped around his forehead that pushed his pale lavender hair back; his left wrist was in plaster and stitches stretched across his pale cheeks covered with deep bruises just starting to fade, his uniform was unusually loose even for someone like him making Tala think he might have cracked ribs.

"It's a free world…geez I can't even go into a public toilet anymore without someone having a go at me" Tala said coldly glaring at the violet haired boy.

"No no…I'm not saying anything like that it's just, what I want to know is why a guy like you is putting on makeup?" he replied smirking.

"Fuck off Bryan it's none of your business now unless there's something else you want, then fuck off" the red head growled going for the door. The other Russian laughed "Oh there's something I want Tala…" Bryan pushed him against the cracked tiled wall "I want you…" he whispered forcing his tongue into Tala's mouth.

A thought flashed across Tala's mind '…not again!' trying to fight off the taller boy but two days without food had zapped what strength he had left after their training…in his mind a pair of bright blue eyes flashed in the dark…a young Kai covered in lashes and lying in his own blood…no he couldn't let it happen again.

Bryan had him pinned against the toilet wall arms above his head "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this Red…?" he asked.

Tala struggled and snarled indignantly, a memory came to the top of his mind…

'_Takao's face is rude' Kai murmured tiredly._

'_Good you're back to normal for a minute there I thought I'd have to check if your scarf wasn't on too tight' Tala laughed._

'_HEY just because I'm a little out of it doesn't mean you can diss the scarf Red Haired Albino!' The slate haired teen faked indignation. _

"Let go of me" Tala growled bearing his teeth.

"Why should I Red I have you right where I want you, on your knees begging for mercy, you're all gonna pay for what your little blonde friend did to me"

Tala couldn't see Bryan at all, stuck in his memories.

'_Why…'Kai mumbled a stray tear rolling down his face 'Why did Grandfather do…?' the thirteen year old pressed his face against Tala's chest all his years of training breaking down._

_A voice growled from the slate haired boy 'He will pay…' before another soft sob came from him again. Tala could feel the cold tears through his thin singlet soaking into his bandages, holding his left arm tightly around the crying boy he stared at his right arm… the dim light in the cell reflecting off the plastic and metal._

'_Never again…there will be no more unnecessary pain' The thirteen year old Tala whispered 'Remember we've broken our promises too many times, this time we make our own promise ok Kai' _

'_OK…' came a mumbled whisper from the boy _

_Tala held out his hand 'No one will ever harm us in that way again or see that were hurt, no one will ever take advantage of us!' _

The memories faded back into the reality around him "COWARD YOU'RE JUST A WEAK BASTARD GET ON YOUR FEET" Bryan screamed kicking the half naked Tala in the guts.

"No one calls me Red…but him…" Tala whispered slowly getting, he stood shakily.

"Aw you look pretty when you struggle" he smirked walking towards him "Sad to say you won't be very soon… and little Maxie and Kai will run away from you because you're an ugly monster…heheheheheehe" Bryan laughed insanely caressing his face "Oh well you can always come crawling to me"

_CRACK…_

Bryan fell to the floor clutching his bloodied face. Tala's right hand clenched in a fist; drops of blood soaking into the glove covering the plastic coated metal and circuitry.

"I crawl for no one got it Purpley and NO BODY CALLS ME RED EXCEPT FOR KAI" the red head screamed before he grabbed his bag and ran.

**&&&**

The hall ways were empty; everyone was either in class or wagging most likely the latter.

Tala slipped quietly down the hall to his locker, unlocking it he searched inside. The locker had a been painted down the centre with a red and blue line running parallel to each other he and Kai had always shared a locker at school in case he ever forgot the combination.

'What is going on last I heard he was in a coma down in the Yamamoto Hospital? Why can't life ever be normal? Huh God can't you ever be nice for once and give us a day off from all the weirdness' he thought slipping a spare shirt on, it was a old black turtle neck that clung to his skin from size and blood. Checking the label 'Idiot' he thought 'It's one of Kai's grrr that's the second him this week that he's done that!' he peeled it off and got one that actually fit properly before putting on another school jacket, buttoning it up to the top button.

Tala felt tired all of a sudden, lethargic and lonely he looked at the timetable glued to the inside of the metal door to his locker, his thin lips mouthing the words 'Advanced Physics' his favorite subject out of all of them at the run down school but he couldn't even bring himself to sit through two hours of equations trying to look like he always did in class: stoic and expressionless, 'The Ice Cube' someone had once called him people were always stupid like that wondering why he didn't talk to anyone but Kai, Max and Rei, the one's he hated most were the dicks that came up when he was alone and whether serious or just to tease him, asked him out or said their 'friend really liked him', like most people here they were tactless, immature idiots…in Tala's opinion a snail had more intelligence and right to life than them.

Taking out a few things from the locker he closed it. He didn't know where to go, he was normally in class at this time, working out of the school ground.

'Hmmm I know I'll go see Ninel and Sasha' the crimson haired teen thought turning to the west towards Central Zoo. Tala liked to go there when he felt this way to see his Pack.

Strolling up to the ticket booth he waved to the brunette girl inside, he been there so many times they were almost friends, and slid 10000 yen under the barrier in exchange for the bar-coded paper which he shoved into a slot making the turnstile blocking his way inside. Moving briskly to the back of the Zoo litter blew past him on the wind, the narrow cobbled paths entwining between the enclosures were empty except for a few mothers holding onto young children threatening to wander off.

Leaning on the metal and stone railing he had a good view of his friends "_There you are!"_ Tala said in Russian. The grey wolf trotted towards him and howled _"I know Ninel I should be in school but I couldn't think after what happened…with Bryan"_ she growled at the name and a large black wolf moved to them _"Hey Sash",_ he placed his hand through the wire fencing and patted his muzzle slowly. His lips curled into the closest resemblance of a smile he could do, they always cheered him up and he definitely preferred wolves to humans any day.

"In the end we must all get up and move forward…but this is something I just can't do at the moment" he said, brushing thin bangs out of his eyes "Hmmm…hair's finally dry" he stood up, his eyes shadowed "I need some glass…"

**&&&**

Walking home, the moon had started to rise and the streets were bustling with shoppers and taxis making the going slow; fog slowly rolled in around Tala's feet and mist rose from his breath in the freezing temperatures. Pulling his jacket tight around himself Tala shivered shoving his hands into his pockets. But it wasn't the cold wind; something else caused him to shiver to his bones.

At the entrance to a side street there stood Rei with his arms wrapped around Max.

A tear fell from his eyes and he ran. 'Now I'm truly alone…alone is that all I'm destined to be…' the thought went through his mind, he needed to be on his own; in these moments his room was his refuge…it always had been.

Slamming the heavy glass panel of the window down he stumbled across and fell onto his bed not caring about the springs jabbing through his skin. Tears ran freely from his cerulean eyes now there was no one watching. "Idiot!" he whispered through sobs, punching the mattress in anger only to slash his fingers on the metal though to Tala the pain good it let him know he was alive, he'd always hated that.

Tala walked slowly to his desk, blood flowing unnoticed from his left hand and dripping down to the floor "How could he ever love someone as pathetic as me?" he thought out loud. He stared at the piece of glass, coated around the edge with dried crusted blood, sitting alone in the open draw for what seemed to him like hours before picking it up. He slipped off his jacket and shirt looking down at his scars, some done by Boris or his guards some self inflicted.

'I shouldn't have expected him to…' He thought pressing the glass into his chest, feeling his blood slowly run down his stomach staining the waist band of his pants, he pulled it across in a line ripping through his thin muscle and flesh with anger and sadness and then again cutting and slicing moving down his chest to his navel.

'Why…why…why is it always like this why must everyone hurt me' Tala thought clenching his fist still holding the shard anger and hate over coming his sadness.

The door creaked slightly too quiet for Tala to hear above his self loathing. "Tala…" a whisper came from behind it tentatively.

His anger faded, he knew that voice and fear and sadness overcame him again "Kai…" he voice choked, he never wanted Kai to see this…what he was really like on the inside 'Weak…and pathetic that's what I really am…' he thought staring into the sharp crimson eyes 'he was always the strong one out of us…'.

**TBC**


	11. Velvet Sky

**(Waves) Lookie I put another chapter up for your enjoyment…don't ya just feel the love?**

**Anyway thanks Suzanne - yeah 2 uploads again I'll probably continue with that format for now anyway, the next chapter is pretty long so I probably won't put up the next two until mid December...I'm trying to tie up the loose ends so I can finish up with about 20 chapters or so.**

Disclaimer: No sorry I don't own Beyblade

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 11 Velvet Sky

'_Nobody knows who I really am  
No one knows what I'm really like  
Behind this mask…_

…_Keep that smile glued on  
Don't let the pain seep through the mask  
Just how long can this last  
When my illusion becomes someone else's reality'_

_(from Freedom To Be Me by Nari-sama)_

'Was it a dream?...' Max had felt the strong arms around him 'It felt so real…' he thought sadly hugging his knees Max stared out of his open windows the wind blowing his blue curtains around like sails 'Though…what would I do if it was?'

Max climbed out of bed peeling off his pants and jumper, sweat pouring off his pale skin making his light blonde hair hang limp and oily in his face. He walked over to the connecting bathroom, closing the door he sighed 'Why must things be so confusing?' turning the handle to shower and stepped in letting the warm water run over his tense muscles thinking back to the day things had gone from bad to worse in his life…_the fourth of January 2005_.

_He'd been 15, it had happened only a year ago yet it seemed like forever had pasted, like his life had stopped though the world had get on turning without him. _

_Max ran backwards down the street waving goodbye to Tala and Kai before turning on his heel so not to run into a street light. It'd been a good day, no homework, no pushy teachers, no Bryan and his mum had flown home early from Osaka for his birthday that day…he hadn't been in such a good mood since he'd gotten real friends._

_Running through the back door he called out to his parents 'MOM DAD!' bounding through to the lounge room he saw a policeman talking, his father sitting on the couch looking angry and serious sometimes yelling at the officer._

'_Mizuhara – San please calm your self down!' the policeman said._

'_CALM DOWN MY WIFE WAS MEANT TO COME HOME SAFELY NOT IN A BODY BAG HOW CAN I BE CALM!' _

_Neither of the two men noticed the blonde teen standing in the doorway 'NO! it can't be Mom's here she has to be alive…she just can't be dead…can't…be' Max whispered tears forming at the corners of his cobalt blue eyes..._

_A week later he'd stared at her pale face half covered with black lace, remarkably it had been the only part of her left undamaged from the explosion, she looked like she was just sleeping finally at peace after years of heart ache and being downtrodden._

_Later at home he lay in bed for hours staring up at his ceiling thinking._

'_Why…why did she have to die…she'd never done anything wrong to anyone' he thought pulling his pillow over his face trying to suppress the sobs, he didn't want anyone to know how broken he was inside especially his Father. Max pressed harder pushing the pillow into his face with more and more pressure…his anger came to the surface as his lungs started to burn._

'_Why…why do those bastards always think of themselves…CAN'T I EVER BE HAPPY' he screamed in his mind_

_That was when he'd blacked out__..._

_Blurry cobalt eyes opened slowly, room was white and silent except for the sound of the respirator and the clicking of shoes on the cold tiles coming from hallway through the open door. Max stared up at the ceiling, he'd always hated hospitals now he knew why…they used disinfectant and white to the colour of purity to cover up the smell of death in the air, he hadn't noticed it before but the smell of death blew through the whole city. He looked around but his bed was surrounded by a, like everything else, white curtain, something red caught his eye Tala sat collapsed in a uncomfortable hospital chair his face and arms resting against the end of the bed._

_Max closed his eyes thinking 'Nothing good ever lasts…'_

Max stepped out of the shower. He grabbed two of his fluffy purple towels wrapping one loosely around his thin waist and the other around his blonde hair like a badly done turban and went back into his room. Slumping backwards onto his bed he looked over at the clock, it was already 4 in the afternoon, looking out his window the sun was high and blazing bright in the beautiful velvety blue sky 'like his eyes…' a part of him whispered to him.

Sitting up Max felt his energy return slightly and rustled the towel through his blonde locks wrenching the last bits of moister out of them and rubbed the remaining drops of water from his body. Standing up he walked over and opened his wardrobe examining his range of outfits. He sighed and pulled out random pieces of clothing most of them landing on the bedroom floor behind him frustrated he couldn't find anything he thought looked good.

"God…are you telling me I only own 10 pairs of pants…" he thought out loud poking the clothing "OK I've got black jeans, my school pants, OMG how the hell did those get in there" he prodded the navy blue leather "hmmm…grey shorts ahahahahaha I remember these" he laughed staring at the fluorescent orange overalls "Yep I think I'll just wear my punk jeans…".

He threw the rest back in and pulled out a bright green t-shirt from the jumble of clothes that had written on it in large black letters 'Yes I'm puking, I'm not drunk…it's just your face' and slipped them both on. Running a comb through his curly hair a couple of times making it stick up in spikes in some places. He rubbed his eyes his contact lenses irritating him 'Damn forgot to take them out stupid dispensable lenses' thought sliding them out of his eyes and putting on his second pair of glasses 'I knew I should have bought these along time ago, at least these ones look normal' pushing the thin silver framed glasses up his nose.

Unlocking his bedroom door 'Idiot he didn't even know it can be unlocked from the inside…' he remembered his father's stupidity. Max grabbed his MP3 player and wallet before running down to the kitchen to check if his father was home, luckily he was still at work. Max pulled on his purple Converse and slipped out the back door.

Catching the bus south to the lower Commercial District, many people on it stared at the teen the vehicle full of elderly people and family going out fro a days shopping suspicious of lone teenagers especially one dressed like him. He ignored them, it wasn't the first time this had happened to him, and stared out the bus window at the low rise buildings and apartments whizzing past in the view.

'I'll have ask Rei when I see him if that actually happened' he thought mindlessly fiddling with his braces 'Who would have thought out of the three of us Kai would be the one who was gay!...ok maybe not gay maybe he just thought Rei was a girl in a drug caused stupor…WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ON ABOUT MAX!' he mentally slapped himself 'Though Rei is pretty feminine hehehe' a picture of Rei in a frilly pink dress pushed it's way into his mind 'EWWWWWW EVIL PICTURES UNCLEAN'

Max hopped off the bus after the throng of people had gotten out in front of the Stock Exchange, hundreds of retail stores, high rise business towers and café's either side. There were a lot of people now but he knew as the sun went down a lot more would come down after work.

Racing across the main road he knew where he needed to go, looking around he knew that he was in the wrong part of town. 'Stupid driver, must of change the stops ok I'm next to the Stock Exchange duh I'm in the CBD now I'll have to walk a kilometer to get there' he thought mentally skewered the incompetent bus driver as he dodged speeding cars. Max ran down the concrete paths through the bustling crowds with his chain smacking against his leg looking for the side street that lead to where he had to go.

**&&&**

Moving through the rows of neat tomb stones set out to be symmetrical from every angle, he remembered it from last time at the funeral everyone had seemed so fake even in their own sadness, Max had rebelled against it by wearing a purple suit and green tie, he'd hated all the black people were wearing and had draped over everything in sight. People he hadn't met before were offering their condolences and looked at him with pity. The only thing he'd like was that Tala and Kai had been there for him, Tala had actually arrived wearing a bright pink suit with 'I'm gay deal with it' written down the side, he'd commented that 'black is so overrated'.

Staring down at the photo Max's eyes started to mist "Mom…" he whispered falling to his knees "I don't know what to do Mom…"

He heard footsteps behind him "Max?..." someone whispered

"Rei" He replied composing himself and getting to his feet "What are you doing here?" he tried to wipe any tears from his face.

"I was looking around and saw you go in here I didn't mean to follow you…sorry" the raven haired teen whispered Rei bowed and turned to walk off.

"Wait Rei I need to know is there something going on with you and Kai…?" the blonde asked

"That's up to Kai I like him and all…maybe love I don't if that's what I feel or not but if it isn't it's close" Rei answered fiddling with his bandana "Though more importantly what's going on with you and Tala?" he walked away back down the side street towards the bustling crowds of the main road.

Max ran after him to catch up even though the Chinese teen had already stopped, his sad amber eyes fixed on him. Tears started running down Max's face he didn't care anymore and let all his emotions show through "I don't know it's just so confusing…I don't know what to feel" he sobbed gasping as Rei wrapped his arms around him softly.

"If you love him you'll know but you need to tell Tala otherwise it'll just lead to trouble…" he whispered timidly, letting him cry into his shoulder.

**TBC**


	12. Taken To Heart

**I'm sorry I didn't plan on being so mean to Oliver but it was just to much temptation to resist lol anyway this would have to be my favourite chapter so just because of Kai's utter insaness...as well as Romero I just love his character so much ehehee Max and Tala's emo points just went up by a 100 lol!**

Tala/Max = FTW

lol I seriously love Kai and Rei but seriously Tala/Max needs more love folks they are so my favourite...actually were there any fics with Tala and Max together before I said about I didn't really look to see back when I first started ATL oh well

**Tala: **Meh! Who cares! Anyway unless there's some special episode we all somehow missed where Max is a rebellious punk and I really hate Bryan, Nari doesn't own Beyblade or the Naruto characters she uses in the chapter.

**All That's Left**  
Chapter 12 Taken To Heart

_'Weave, weave the sunlight in your hair  
Clasp your flowers to you with pained surprise  
Fling them to the ground and turn  
With a fugitive resentment in your eyes:  
But weave, weave the sunlight in your hair.' _

_(La Figlia Che Piange by T.S Elliot) _

Kai stared in shock at the red head not knowing what to say "Tala…" he gasped, he walked over putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Kai…Please leave me alone" Tala whispered his head down "I don't want your pity" he pushed Kai's hand away weakly.

"Why did you do it Tala, why!" he asked angrily, grabbing Tala's shoulders roughly, his crimson eyes seemed to glow in the dim light coming from the single over head light bulb swinging from the ceiling.

"It's none of your business Kai, it's my pain I'll deal with how I want to!" Tala spat elbowing his friend away and threw his discarded shirt back over his chest, turning his back to the slate haired teen.

"Why bother Tala I've already seen enough and I don't care anymore, you promised to stop…you promised me Tala!" Kai walked towards the door 'How can I trust you anymore Tala if you keep so many things from me…' he thought taking one last look behind him before going back to his cell.

The distant thud of a door slamming was heard by Tala.

"I know Kai…but this is the only way I've ever known…how can I tell you these things when I don't even know, my self, anymore?" the red head whispered.

**& & &**

"_If you love him you'll know but you need to tell Tala otherwise it'll just lead to trouble…" _

Max had his eyes fixed on his bedroom ceiling not even blinking 'Yes but what should do…' he thought remembering what Rei had said to him only two hours earlier.

The blonde hit repeat on his MP3 player as the last song ended and the fast melody of a JPOP song filled his ears.

'Tala's always been there for me; he's been like a big brother and my best friend for the last four years, why is only now that these feeling have come up?'

A small voice whispered 'it had been there all along, you just didn't notice it' Max ignored it.

"Well I'll have to work it out sooner or later and little voices in my head aren't going to help" he told himself rolling on his side "Stupid life why is it always so difficult…".

**& & &**

"THAT BASTARD!" Kai screamed angrily into the night "WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T HE TELL ME! Ah fucker" he growled pain shooting up his foot from where he kicked the tree, hopping on his other leg trying to shake the pain out.

Kai clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into flesh and he felt trickles of hot blood run slowly down over his knuckles, burning tears down his face.

"I hate it…every time single time he makes a promise he never bloody keeps it, the idiot never learns" he whispered through grated teeth, sitting back down on the park bench and laid down resting his head on his arm scanning the area for anyone, it wasn't the first time he'd slept out in the cold and probably not the last either but he was still wary of the people on the street and thanked every god he could think of that he was a light sleeper, before closing his eyes and settling down for a restless sleep still fuming at what Tala had done.

**& & &**

Talasat on the side of his bed, not caring for the springs poking into his thighs, pushing a needle through his skin of his chest and pulling the stitching through not even flinching as he rubbed the iodine into his wounds.

'What was I thinking…' he thought cringing as he hit a nerve "Ah fuck!"

It had been over an hour since Kai had walked out and he hadn't heard anything from his room since. Tala knew he'd calm down after a while it just took some time. He'd started stitching himself up while waiting for him, it had given him something to do other than think about the predicament he was in but it didn't seem to be working so far and his mind always came back to what Kai had said or images of Max in Rei's arms, Tala didn't know whether he should tell Kai what he'd seen or not it would break his heart even worse than his own if it was what he thought.

"Where the hell are those stupid bandages?" He spat absent mindedly; sitting down on the floor he laid down, feeling the cold concrete on his scarred back, and pulled himself under the bed. Putting a torch between his teeth he looked around amongst all the random things underneath "Ahh there they are!" mumbled as he pulled the torch out from mouth not even bothering to wipe the drool off the handle before grabbing the plastic bag full of bandages from between the supporting beams of the bed, pulled himself out and sat up. "Ewww…" Tala quickly wiped the saliva off his hand.

Pulling the strips out from the bag he started wrapping them around his stomach and chest, some blood seeping through. 'I'll have to wear a dark shirt tomorrow for sure' he thought slipping off his shoes and lying down in the groove of his mattress.

**& & &**

_RING RING RING…_

The phone buzzed in Rei's ear, he wrestled his from the tangled sheets and quilts that had wrapped around him in his restless sleep, groggily feeling around in the dark in the direction of the annoying sound.

'Who…the fucking hell calls at this time of night…' he thought as he looked at the luminescent alarm clock's glowing red numbers blazing in the dark 12:32 AM at him hurting his sensitive eyes. Picking up the receiver he pressed against his ear weakly, "Moshi…" he said tiredly.

'_Rei…that you_' a voice asked hurriedly.

"Huh Max what are you doing calling…you what time it is?" he said sternly, a little annoyed at being woken up after only two hours sleep.

'_I know Rei but I need to talk to you about something…can I come over?_' Max pleaded.

"…Ok but please be quieter next time, see ya" He sighed, sitting back up in bed.

'_Yeah bye_'

_Beep…beep…beep _

Reiheard the dial tone and hung the phone back up. Sliding his feet off the bed he felt the rough texture of the old carpet against his heels. 'Better get dressed' he thought getting up and trudging over to the suit cases he had piled up propped against the opposite wall, sifting through the top one that lay wide open until he found some clothes that matched in the dim light of his bedroom.

Leaning on the bed post Rei pulled on the navy blue tank top and black jeans, slipping on a crimson belt around his thin waist before he tied the red bandanna around his forehead and brushed his thick black bangs from underneath.

Rei walked down the stairs to the alcove between the two ground floor shop fronts but not before he checked to make everything was organized.

Rei had always been taught nothing should be out of place or messy in anyway in your home, otherwise people could use it against you and that was something he hated even more than his Mother. Everyone did it in the end no matter how close you are to them…the closer you are the worse it will be, everybody searching for some weakness to use against you for their own gain. That is what his Mother had always hammered into him since he was old enough to understand; that was why '…Everything has its place and everyone has theirs…'

He leaned against the grey concrete wall deep in thought, he hadn't even thought about his mother since he confronted her on the pier. He'd pushed to the back of his mind; he'd busied himself hanging out with Kai burying and had buried himself in school work.

"Hey Rei" a quiet voice said pulling Rei out of his revelry.

"Oh hi Max, come in" Rei said unlocking the steel gate and held it open for him. He stared at the blonde; something about Max seemed different for some reason. The way he held himself was off; he had an aura of uncertainty to him even more than earlier and his calm, carefree blue eyes were shadowed with doubt.

**& & &**

Tala stared at the photo, turning it over again to read the date _1/15/ 2001_ it had been taken a week after the operation, both of them; it had been less a month since Kai's twelfth birthday on Christmas Eve. He'd had barely any control over his prosthetic limbs and Boris had made good advantage of that.

He placed it back down on the table 'That's when I started…' he thought looking at his left wrist, thin white scars running across it. Max had given him a reason to stop but now he was the reason he cut, he'd been in and out of love with Max so much over the past couple of years that Tala didn't know what he felt, did he really love him? Could Max ever love him? But when he cut everything made sense, everything became clear to him.

Tala had started to cut from his guilt he'd seen Mystel die in front of his eyes and Sergei and Mihael they had died as well; he felt he could havedone something to save them but his own cowardice held him back, they had been his friends as well as troops. Max reminded him of those three with his blonde locks and blue eyes. They were the reason they'd survived those years, friends, even if they couldn't be friendly to each other when training or let anyone know , that's why their unit had been sent on that mission Tala had suspected Boris had known all along about their little group and sent them on that suicide mission like lambs to the slaughter.

"Nothing matters now though…does it?" the red head whispered "Pain is something we were destined to feel and nothing can change that" he looked up out through the bars of his window at the glowing yellow moon high in the ink black sky, a tear slid down his pale face "Where are you Kai?..."

**& & &**

Tired crimson eyes squinted in the bright dawn sun light, the heat singing Kai's pale Russian skin. He pulled his scarf over his sensitive skin giving him the look of a bank robber but he didn't really care at this moment.

Kai sat back up stretching his aching muscles and looked through his bag for his medication; he reasoned with himself that it would wear off before school started as he injected the lithium into the thin protruding vein in his wrist. All through the night there had been constant whispers in the back of his head keeping him awake.

Standing up he slid his bag back onto his shoulders and walked over to the public toilets at the end of the park.

Squeezing into the gap between the wall and the toilet Kai closed the cubicle door. Dumping his bag onto the toilet lid he lent against the cubicle's dividing wall and searched through the pockets of his bag until he found it, the thick black marker. Uncapping it he placed it tentatively under his nose closing his crimson eyes as he breathed in the pungent smell of the ink. Kai started to relax, muscles he didn't realize were tensed loosened up and he slid down the wall a little.

Tala's words from the night before suddenly came to mind…_"It's none of your business Kai, it's my pain I'll deal with how I want to!" _

'Heh' he thought 'this is completely different!' sniffing deeper, a foggy feeling going over his mind 'What the fuck am I talking about…' the marker slid from his weak grip 'how can I be such a hypocrite!'.

**& & &**

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEP… _

Rei stirred on his couch fumbling around trying to find his alarm clock to hit, before it finally twigged in his brain where he was. Sitting up he cringed as his sore joints cracked, popping his vertebrate back into place.

He stared sleepily at the wall mounted clock for ten minutes before his brain actually registered what time it was. "… 8:20 FUCK!" Rei screamed as he ran back to his room.

He scrambled around trying getting dressed. Throwing clothes all over his bedroom he lent on his bed for balance as he pulled his shirt and jacket on at the same time as his pants only to fall on his butt "AHHHH SHIT" he yelled as he lost his balance "Owwwww" he rubbed his arse before getting back up and finished pulling up his pants before he buttoned up his shirt and jacket. Rushing back to the lounge room he grabbed his bag throwing out all the things he didn't need and chucked in his books and art folder.

Running out the door "FUCK" he swore doubling back to get his trainers and keys he just got his hand between the door and the frame before it locked him out only to get his left hand crushed in the process.

Rushing back out he shoved his keys in his pocket with a piece of toast between his teeth, slipping his right shoe on his bag hanging off one shoulder.

Running down the stairs he thought angrily 'How the hell could I have over slept! I only closed my eyes for a few seconds…AH CURSE YOU MAX!' as he mentally slapped himself.

After taking a couple of bites of the toast, as he ran down the street, he threw it away on the ground. He hadn't been very hungry in the first place but it was one on his long list of habits he most likely would never stop doing.

Passing one of the bridges crossing the river Rei noticed tens of people crowded around, with cars and trucks backed up for a mile as well, he slowed down his curiosity over powering his obsession on punctuality. Sirens and red and blue lights flashed near the end of the bridge and boats were underneath in the river fishing something out of the water.

Tapping someone on the shoulder politely Rei asked "Excuse me but what's happening?" a man turned towards him, he crossed his arms over his chest and dragged on his cigarette.

"Some punk kid jumped off the bridge" the man said "All the radio and news are all over it but seriously there's always kids plonking themselves off in this town or being murdered che" he took another puff on the smoke "probably some rich punk didn't couldn't get his way when he nagged Daddy for a new Ferrari!"

Rei stared down as they dragged up the body…long dark blue hair…scruffy black clothes…baseball cap. Rei's brain was screaming at him for some reason and alarm bells were going off in his mind.

**& & &**

"So what are you going to do?" He said pushing his raven bangs out of his face, a steely annoyed look in his amber eyes staring at Max. Sleep deprived and listening to Max all night hadn't put him Rei in a good mood and Max was testing what little patience he had left.

"I'll tell him…" the blonde whispered, Max's face covered with the glow of the rising coming through the window of Rei's apartment, his cobalt eyes locked squarely on the grey carpet of the lounge room floor.

"Finally, I thought we were back to square one for a second…now why did we spend six HOURS going around in circles!" Rei shouted in exasperation at his friend's indecision.

"Sorry I just can't deal with rejection…" Max apologized sheepishly.

"Now go, before I start a mass killing of all the blondes in Japan…AHHHHHH I need sleep" Rei said yawning into his hand.

Max got up from his chair, stopping at the front door he looked back at Rei "Thanks Rei, I just wish it would be as easy as how you and Kai got together…" he said smiling sadly and walked closing the door behind him.

Rei sat stretched out on the couch 'Easy…who said anything was easy' he thought, his eyelids drooping down slowly from his tiredness 'Maybe just close my eyes for…a few minu…' he trailed off sleepily.

**& & &**

Kai walked slowly, sadly dragging his tired feet across the asphalt of the school yard. It had taken only two hours even at his slow pace to walk from the park he'd uncomfortably slept in to where he was, though surprisingly with only ten minutes before home group started there was hardly anyone there yet.

The other students that were attending school were clustered in small groups dotted around the yard, he wondered what could be going on; he'd never seen the herds as he called them, act in this way.

'Something's up…' Kai thought smirking 'Someone must have died…'

He walked up to one of the groups trying to single out one of them to ask them what was happening.

"Hey you what's going on?" he said to one bluntly, quickly becoming irritated and slightly repulsed by their high pitched hyper voices and slutty clothes. One of the preppy emo dressed girls turned from the pack looking him up and down, twirling her dyed black and indigo hair.

"Like you don't know, honestly it's like so over all the stations this morning like Oh My God! You're like so behind the times, ah like what a loser!" she screeched at the Kai.

"So what the fucking hell is going on! Tell now or die you soul sucking demon" he growled, glaring her down.

Obviously the girl didn't notice his hate filled glare and replied "You know that dead beat ugly loser Kinomiya Takao he like totally jumped off the Yamatama Bridge and like killed himself. Aren't you like happy now, it's like SO cool now we won't have that bum like hanging around anymore!" she beamed, uncaring for the fact that someone had just killed themselves.

Kai closed the distance between their faces until they were only inches apart.

"Maybe if it were one of your group of slutty whores I would feel an ounce of happiness in my life…but right now upon meeting you I do feel some joy because I'm not like YOU!" he shouted in her face.

"WHAT!" she screamed and angrily shoved him away.

The rest of the girls watched on eyeing glaring at him, buzzing around like a swarm of angry bees.

"Well you see, I don't get off at hearing that others have killed themselves because their lives aren't worth living anymore…at least a tiny piece of my heart is still intact compared to yours" he spat bluntly before abruptly leaving the girls standing there looking like stunned fish.

**& & &**

Max sat on the swing of the play ground, one leg on either side of the plastic seat, deep in thought.

'Takao's dead…' he thought tears rolling slowly down his face 'I should've been there for him, how could I'd have not known?...' closing his eyes he rested his head on his hands, his fingers wrapped tightly around the steel chain supporting the swing 'he's been acting that way for weeks ever since Hiro came back'

Flashbacks filled his head of the hyper blunette, he always had a smile plastered over his face but his soft brown eyes never quite hid the anger and hatred he held for his father.

When he was seven his older brother Hiro and his father went on an archaeological expedition leaving Takao alone with their grandfather at his Dojo. His grandfather didn't really care much about him, he made Takao go through a rigid regiment of kendo and other martial arts to him Takao was just a vessel for their ancient family lineage and traditions to be passed down through.

He hated his father and therefore he always hated his own face because Takao looked so much like him except for his mother's eyes. That's why he dyed his hair navy blue. Everything he did was a silent rebellion.

'_Hey whatcha doin?' a nine year old Takao asked Max. _

'_Nothing…' the blonde replied, between sobs, in broken Japanese. _

'_Whatchacrying for? Those bullies been picking on ya cos ya a foreigner eh?' he said sitting down beside Max. _

'_You wanna see somethin' the raven haired boy whispered fiddling with his red and blue baseball cap. _

'_OK' Max said curiosity getting the better of him. Takao pulled off his cap, long black hair falling down over his shoulders. _

'_He hehehe' Max giggled softly 'You've got hair like a girls!' he said his hand covering his mouth. _

'_HEY! WHO ARE YOU CALLING GIRLY YOU STUPID BLONDE MIDGET!' Takao screamed pulling his hair back up in his cap. Max stared at him tears streaming down his pale face a new. 'Hey hey I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you don't cry, ah geez come on I said I was sorry' _

That had been the first time he'd met Takao and he hadn't changed much up til recently in the years they'd been friends.

"GOD WHY CAN'T ANYTHING GOOD HAPPEN FOR ONCE!" he screamed punching the steel crossbar holding the swings up.

"Because, you should know by now Max that there is no God at least not an all powerful one controlling everything in the universe unless he's an extremely sick and twisted one!" Someone said bitterly behind him.

"Kai" Max exclaimed, looking over at the crimson eyed teen. He gasped trying desperately to wipe away the tears still pouring down from his cobalt eyes. "Kai where's Tala?" he asked sadly.

"Hell if I know…or care for that matter" he spat, glaring weakly at the blonde. His gaze shifted, sadness in his eyes "I heard about Takao…who would have thought huh that he'd be first?..." he said softly diverting his eyes to the ground.

"Yeah…" Max whispered turning away; he looked up at the grey cloudy sky.

Kai sat down on the swing next to him "You should wear your glasses more often they look good on you…" he commented, absentmindedly swinging back and forth slowly. A small smile crept onto Max's face and for a second Max thought Kai almost looked like a child.

**& & &**

Tala sat trying not to place too much weight on the wobbling wooden bench at the edge of the school oval his jacket wide open revealing his crimson and black Atreyu t-shirt, dragging on a half burnt cigarette. He hadn't smoked for a year but it calmed his nerves slightly.

He'd been thinking about what he would say to Kai. It had been plaguing him all night, if there was one thing Tala couldn't live with and that was Kai hating him. He needed Kai just as much as Kai needed him.

He flicked the still smoldering cigarette on the ground, snuffing it with his boot. Standing up Tala picked up his bag weighed down with his physics, psychology and chemistry books, and smacked the dirt off the bottom. Tala ran his left hand through his crimson hair; he was tired from staying up all night thinking about what had happened just lying on the concrete floor of his 'room'. He knew Kai had run, he always did when he couldn't handle something Tala was just happy Kai didn't do what he did.

"I guess I should get going knowing Kai he's probably already at school by now no matter where he spent the night..." Tala sighed moving on.

**& & &**

'I can't believe it...Takao's dead...'Rei thought a single tear rolling down his cheek. He hadn't even met the teen properly, he's only been around him a couple of times but the Chinese teen couldn't help but feel depressed because of it.

Rain pattered down from the grey overcast sky, it was deep penetrating rain that soaked straight into his skin the chill running through his whole body. It seemed like the sky was mocking them mirroring the mood that covered the school, the dismal sadness seeping through to your soul. If it'd been Harry Potter Rei would have thought there was a Dementor floating around.

"Ah..." he sighed "but the sky isn't mocking anyone...the sky is just the sky and the clouds are just that clouds, big columns of water vapor and air particles they have no emotion, stupid humans only impart emotions on them to make think they are mocking so they can feel angry at something and make themselves feel better..." Rei rambled, staring up at the sky, water running down his back from his water logged raven hair.

He opened the double doors to the white rectangular building and walked down the corridor to his locker, his trainers squelching with each step, annoyed he ran his long fingers through his tangled locks. Opening his locker Rei pulled out some spare clothes from the bottom of it. 'Always be prepared as they say, thank the Gods my bag is water proof!' he thought ringing out his bandanna.

Rei slammed the door to his locker closed and turned in the opposite direction of his home group towards the boys' toilets to change and maybe stick his head under the hand dryer.

**& & &**

"DAMN SKY! BASTARD HAD TO JUST PISS DOWN ON ME DIDN'T YOU! GAH!" Tala growled at the sky and tried to find cover from the down pour that only been drops few minutes before.

He'd always hated the rain, it reminded him of tears...tears of his friends...of Kai...tears he held inside, and to Tala it was a symbol of weakness but at the same time strength he didn't know why just like he couldn't work out why he still clung to his faith in God.

He ran as fast as could across the soccer oval, Tala sensed someone nearby he looking over his shoulder he saw Rei walking not caring much for the rain a tired yet dreamy expression across his tanned face and dark bags forming under his sharp amber eyes. Rei was mumbling about something but Tala couldn't quite hear, barely catching a few words, something about clouds and the sky.

Continuing on he finally made it to the side entrance he normally went through, he'd always been a little paranoid about going to class through the front doors. Tala stopped resting for a second under the eaves, gasping for breathe he swatted down and lent against the concrete exterior checking his arm and leg for water damage and scratches.

Satisfied, he walked down to home group in his damp clothes.

Entering Tala swiftly made his way over to his friends dumping himself unceremoniously in the vacant seat next to Max trying his best to avoid talking to Kai for the time being. "Hey" Tala waved to them. Max looked over from his conversation with Kai "Oh hi Tala" he said looking away quickly.

At that time the classroom door creaked open and Rei walked into the class panting, his raven bangs hanging limp in his eyes. The Chinese boy walked over slowly and slumped down in the seat next to Kai, raising his hand in a tired hello them.

"KONNICHIWA MY LOVELY INSOLENT CHILDREN" yelled their mentally unstable home group teacher, Romero-sensei, dancing through the door carrying a stack of books in his arms.

Half the class that was still awake grunted and hmm-ed good morning to him and went back to what they were doing.

Tala watched his friends carefully, he wondered why everyone was ignoring him; he could understand Rei, who was half asleep with his face flat against his desk and Kai, who was still angry and distant from the night before but Max was more despondent and quiet than ever, with a far off expression on his face.

**& & &**

Kai looked at Tala out the corner of his eye, he hadn't said anything since Tala entered the room. Kai knew the redhead would apologize and say he'll never do it again and expect everything will be ok but Kai could be very stubborn and could go a whole week without talking if he wanted to, he was angry and Talawasn't just going to wash it over like before, it would take a lot more for the slate haired teen to forgive his friend this time.

'That bastard, how can he act so cheerfully, well for him anyway, after something like that…the prick!' Kai thought angrily, crossing his arms over his chest 'though why am I acting like such…a…woman…' he raised an eyebrow at his own thoughts.

He picked up his bag sifting through it for his timetable 'Hmmm' he mused boredly 'Art…I have I feeling this won't turn out good for Max especially after what's happened…CHIKUSO! Why is everything so troublesome!' he closed his diary, shoved it back in his bag and he started banging his head against the top of the desk softly in frustration.

**&&&**

"Aburame Mai" Romero-sensei read out.

"Yeah here" the blonde girl replied playing with her headphones.

"Haruno Sakura" Romero-sensei called out to the class from the register. "Here" a teenage girl with pink hair called out from the front row. The students sweat dropped at their teacher as Romero-sensei started marking off the roll quickly with only a minute before lesson.

"Hiwatari Kai" he said.

"Here" Kai disgruntled said still banging his head against the desk.

"Ivanov Tala"

"Right here what are you blind..." the redhead said bluntly, Romero stared at him blankly for a second before continuing right on.

"Kido Yamata"

"Yeah what?" came from the other side of the class.

"Kon Rei"

"Hai...what...um 54" the Chinese boy answered, half asleep with drool running down his chin. Everyone turned and laughed at the confused boy, Kai even stop banging his head for a second only to resume doing it even harder than before. Rei could them whisper about him, even being half conscious, he hated it. A group of girls near him were giggling behind their hands and pointing at him, suddenly Rei wished the Gods would strike him down right their and then and end his misery. Rei sank down in his seat deciding, as the teacher resumed roll call again, to join Kai in his brain cell demolition.

Thankfully for Rei and Kai's brains the bell rang a few seconds later.

"Ok ok go fuck off to your lessons my insolent children and don't do anything I _would_do!" Romero-sensei said waving them off and rushed out of the door.

"Urgh...what we have..." Rei groaned leaning his sore head on his hand.

"...Art..." Kai said grimly, his head resting against the desk.

"Let's hope Oliver-sensei is away please be away!" Rei clapped his hands together and prayed. Max sighed at his friends antics and got up out of his seat looking at the seat next to him he noticed Tala was gone.

**&&&**

Unshed tears welled up behind Tala's eyes and he dug his nails into his palm. He stared at the floor letting his legs lead him where he had to go, he'd been there so many times it was ingrained.

'Know I remember why I like free's...' he thought walking into the library.

Dumping his bag on the carpet, he sat down in front of one of the outdated school computers. Tala moved the mouse and the login page came up.

'Hmmmm username: ivanota and password...crimson, chikuso I hate this stupid login system...' the redhead thought getting back up and walking over to the science section of the non-fiction books.

**&&&**

Red and blue mixed together on the pallet trying to get the tone he was looking for, Kai squinted in the artificial light of the art studio comparing the colour he'd just created to the one on the canvas. 'The painting's finally starting to come together' he thought brushing the tops of the wings with the deep crimson paint.

"Hey that's heaps cool" Rei said looking up from the portrait he was painting to see what his koi was doing.

"Um...thanks" Kai answered unsure of how to take the praise and went back to his blending."

Max sighed, he knew his picture looked good but there was just something about the face that wasn't right, he shaved some of the paint off and redid the brush stroke. He dipped his brush into the well on his easel and mixed the water with the bright yellow paint on his pallet, brushing short quick strokes across the left side of the boy's face in his painting to contrast the right covered with shadow.

He'd been trying to absorb himself in his picture but so far the boy was turning out in his mind to look too much like Tala.

'Why won't you GAH!' the blonde thought painting over the boys hair with black, adding blue highlights in after 'Ok be that way this is the best you're going to look...I might as well start on the sunset and the cemetery...meh I'll go check out Kai's his works always gives me inspiration' Max reasoned and put down his tools. He walked over, past Rei, to where Kai was applying a dark aqua wash to the background of his piece.

Kai stopped working, resting his tools on the easel, and stepped back so Max could have a better look, he was used to this by now every time the blonde boy got frustrated with his piece no matter how good it looked he would always visit the Russian to see what he was doing.

Max stared at his friend's art work enviously and said "You know I hate you, don't you..."

"Love you too Maxie" Kai replied like he always would with a smirk spread across his thin lips and gave Max a little wave with his free hand.

It was just then that the two of them noticed a shadow looming over them ominously. The two turned around to see there teacher Oliver-sensei, he was snobbish, arrogant teacher who more criticized your work than taught you anything to do with art, that's why nearly all the students loathed him and usually dropped out of Art after two weeks.

Oliver stared at the painting for a few moments before making up his mind "Monsieur Mizuhara vhat is abominable piece of crap! Vou call vis filth art? I would expect better from a preschooler I do not know who in the world the education board gave you a B but this beyond the worst piece of garbage I've ever seen" he sneered at Max.

Max could normally take his criticism but Oliver had hit a nerve with that remark, tears welled up behind his cobalt eyes, he refused to let _him _see him cry, Max wouldn't give Oliver the pleasure of seeing how hurt he really was. Max glared at the Frenchman with disdain "Do I offend you in some way?" he spat.

"Vhat are you on about! I 'ave nev'er discrimina'ted against vou, I am jus' saying de truth! Vou jus' cannot accept it" Oliver said in his bad French accent, outraged at the boys accusation.

Max walked up to his teacher until they were face to face "You know what I mean Oliver-_kun_!" Max yelled angrily "You've judged me ever since you started 'teaching' here, why do you hate me so much HUH?" he pushed Oliver back "IS IT BECAUSE I'M HALF CAST? Noooooo it wouldn't...wouldn't? because then you'd go for Kai as well..." he grabbed the green haired man by his shirt "It's because I'm American! isn't it...no matter what I do it's never good enough...my pictures are always crap to you!" Max saw fear in the Frenchman's azure eyes and dropped him "heh...you're not worth the trouble" he walked towards the door "and so's ya know, you know _nothing..._that was Kai's work you chewed out back there!" and he walked out of the studio calmly.

Slowly he moved down the empty corridor tears running down his face, slowly he stared to move faster with every step, he hadn't known when he'd started running he couldn't deal with all it, everyone he ever got close to died and everyone who were meant to love him despised him.

'Kai was right...there is no god there was only hell and I'm living it!' he thought unexpectedly smacking into a heavy door. Max hadn't been looking where he was running and ran straight into the toilet door, he looked up groggily from the floor blood dripping down from a cut on his forehead. "Heh good thing it's a double..." he said to himself a grim smile across his face.

**&&&**

Kai stared down at their stunned teacher, glaring with all his heart. He ripped off his smock and grabbed Rei by his arm, dragging him over to the door.

"What! Where are we going?" Rei asked the determined Russian.

"After Max...no matter how calm he looked you can't underestimate what he'll do when he's like this!" Kai said picking up his bag.

"What?..." Rei quirked as he slipped off his own smock and hooked his bag over his shoulders, snagging Max's on the way as well.

"Don't worry you wouldn't understand...you weren't here at the time..." Kai whispered his back to Rei as he walked down the corridor solemnly.

"Try me, come on Kai we're meant to trust each other..." Rei said moving in the older boys way. He looked up sadly into his koi's crimson eyes silently pleading with him.

Kai looked away quickly "Damn those eyes! you're meant to be a cat not a dog you know that don't you Rei" he sighed the large amber orbs still focused on him "...ok it was a year ago...just after his mother died he tried to kill himself...self suffocation" he smiled sadly at the memory "He was in hospital for three weeks in a coma...the doctors thought he was a vegetable but Tala waited by his bed side never leaving his side for a minute even Boris couldn't move him on threat of torture...and then suddenly one he just woke up completely ok".

"Oh..." Rei said looking away "So you think he'd try again now Takao's..."

"Yeah..." Kai whispered "I can't let another one of my friends die..." his slate hair shadowed his eyes.

"Takao wasn't your fault"

"That's not what I mean..." Kai said bluntly forgetting Rei didn't know "Sorry...ok...just go find Tala and get him ok I'm going to find Max" he yelled running backwards for a second before vanishing from view.

'I just hope for both of their sakes you find him before he does anything drastic...' Rei thought grimly.

**&&&**

Anger boiled over looking over the reflection in the broken mirror panel, he hated the face in the reflection, his own, it was just like _his_ 'Father's' he thought bitterly, the person he hated most in the world. Most people said he looked like his mother but if you changed his hair and eyes to brown, underneath the freckles Max saw his father.

Max threw his fist at his reflection all his hatred flowing out. The already broken mirror shattered, cracking into large shards of glass crashing to the floor and into the clogged basin.

"AHHHHH FUCK...gah!" he gasped in pain, shards of the mirror was embedded in the muscle and in between the fragile bones of his hand and blood poured from the broken arteries 'WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BLOOD!' Max screamed in his mind, a memory came flashing back.

_SLAP!_

_Judy Mizuhara held her hand to her face where her husband had just hit her._

_"YOU LITTLE BITCH" Akira screamed, throwing his wife into wall "YOU THOUGHT COULD BLACKMAIL ME YOU FAT WHORE!"._

_Judy slowly got back to her feet only to fall back to her knees clutching her stomach in pain and blood from her split lip dripped down her chin. She looked down, blood covered her hands "No...no..." she whispered her voice wavering and hitching. Judy knew it was too late, she could feel the blood trickling down her thighs._

_Max gasped "Mommy..." he whispered peering through the gap in the sliding door._

_Judy stared over at her son gasping in pain trying to crawl over to him as Akira looked on doing nothing to help his bleeding wife._

_"Maxie...don't look... AHHHHH" she screamed blood pooling under her, running down from under her skirt._

He'd killed her, his own daughter...his mother had had a miscarriage, she was six months pregnant. The baby, Rebecca, was barely even old enough to have a gender.

His father had thought Judy had been using Max to spy on him, Max had only been six years old playing in the streets on his own like he'd always done since they'd moved from America. Max had gone down the alley to fetch his soccer ball when he'd seen them together...his father and the other man. He hadn't wanted to look but his body had frozen in place in fear and shock.

"AHHHHH!" Max screamed as he ripped the shards from his hand, rivers of blood pouring out.

'Why do we live if it is to only to feel pain, that quote is starting to make sense' he thought leaning against the wall 'There is nothing worth living for really, no one likes me anyway I've lived this long on a false hope... that someone would love me for who I am' he began to cry, tears streaming down his face. Max quickly wiped them away with his good hand, the back of his hand covered with a thin layer of blood from his cut.

"Why..." he whispered "Why can't anyone love me...?" Max stared at his reflection and picked up a piece of the broken mirror. His mind suddenly went bland he felt the hatred consume him again, before he knew what he was doing his hand was stabbing the shard into his cheek dragging the glass down, slashing his face.

He rolled up his sleeves digging the glass into his flesh.

"WHY?...BASTARDS"

_"Leave us alone you can't play with us get lost loser!" the older boy yelled in his face, shoving the seven year old Max to the ground and started kicking him. The teacher looked on not lifting a finger for the defenseless boy, a small smirk forming on her lips._

_"You shouldn't be alive you freak" the boy screamed his voice filled with hatred "You half--casts are trash that should be wiped out" the twelve year old spat uncaring that Max was starting to cough up blood._

Blood gushed out from the cut artery in his sliced wrist.

**&&&**

In the Library Tala was working hard trying to keep his mind busy, his fingers moving furiously across the keyboard. Headphones covered his ears and he sung along to the words from memory while still focusing on the History essay he was working on.

"Hmmmm Please just don't play with me my paper heart will bleed this wait for destiny won't do be with me please I beseech you, simple things that make you run a-way, catch you if I can..." he sang away, tapping his feet absent mindedly to the beat.

"TALA!" Rei screamed running into the Library, receiving glares from the librarians.

"Huh..." Tala looked up from his work to see Rei walking towards him gasping "Shouldn't you be in art Rei...?" he stared at the Chinese boy puzzled.

"IknowbutMaxranoutofclassandKaithinkshe'sgoingtohurthimself!" Rei let out all at once.

"Ok...again in Japanese please" the redhead asked confused.

"I said I know but Max ran out of class...he was really upset too, from what Kai said" Rei said slowly between gasps, leaning on a computer chair.

"WHAT!" Tala screamed as he shut everything down and grabbed his bag as quickly as humanly possible before running out of the area towards the classrooms.

'Damn it not again' Rei thought trying to keep up with the taller Russian.

**&&&**

'That idiot...'Kai yelled in his thoughts 'Why didn't he come to us if he felt this way...STUPID DICK IF HE ISN'T DEAD I'LL KILL HIM MYSELF!'

He had checked the whole school and most of the toilets but still no Max, though he still thought no one else would do better finding him, he had reasoned who better to hunt out a mentally unstable person than a military trained even more mentally unstable person... Kai had to admit though it sounded a lot better in his head.

Kai headed back, double tracking his steps to the Art centre. Walking slowly down the dead silent corridor he thought he heard something. 'There it is again!' he thought his eyes trailing to the blue door his eyes had skimmed over before unnoticed. Slowly Kai pushed the heavy toilet door open "AHHHH" he gasped, quickly he shut the door as he collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees. He gagged bile and vomit frothing out of his throat and splashed on to the polished black lino.

His nails raked over his eyes and forehead the images forming in his head 'Blood!...so much blood...' flashes of his past came back suddenly. Kai could feel Nikolai at the back of his mind clawing to escape.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" He screamed at the whispering in his mind getting increasingly louder. He dug his nails into his forehead, the pressure too much to bare anymore slumping over on his side in pain, whimpering, tears stinging his eyes "Leave me alone...".

**&&&**

"SHUT UP!" Tala and Rei barely heard from a distance.

"What was that?" Rei asked still running tiredly behind Tala.

"I don't know but it sounded like Kai..." Tala yelled without looking back.

"How do you know it's Kai?" the teen questioned puzzled by what the redhead had said.

"Don't ask I just know ok" The Russian replied slightly angry at his younger friend for having to explain and the two continued on in the direction of the screams in complete silence.

**&&&**

Max slumped against the tiled wall, he was tired, physically and mentally drained. Blood slowly dripped from his wrists pooling on the cold floor around him thick and blackish crimson.

'I guess this is the end huh…oh…my god even when I'm dying I sound lame' he thought looking down at himself 'I'm such an idiot…' the life draining away from him like the colour in his skin. His vision started to blur and he was seeing double 'Heh things are starting to...go...heh...it'll...all be over...soon'.

Suddenly someone burst in the door slamming open. Max couldn't recognize them, their face blurred and unfocused, the only features that stood out to him were dark red, crimson hair and dull sky blue eyes. He heard the person yell at him but their voice was slow and muffled like they were talking underwater.

_"MAX...don't...die...come on..."_ the red head yelled to him desperately.

Max didn't have the energy anymore to hold himself up against the wall, sliding slowly down the wall he fell on his side into a pool of his own blood, the thick dark red liquid splashed up a little on his face and soaked into his blonde hair and clothes. Max's eyelids drooped down, his vision becoming gradually darker until all he saw was black.

And this was the last thing he heard before succumbing to the oblivion of unconsciousness.

_"Please...I...love...you..."_

**TBC**


	13. Twilight Mind

**AWWWWW CHAPTER 13 hehehehe unlucky for some lol **

Max: Stop picking on me wahhhh (cries into Tala's shoulder)

Tala: (sweatdrop) ok…why is everyone acting weird today?

Kai: Mhuahahahahaha BLOOD! (has vampire fangs in)

Rei: HEH I'm not weird (looks over at Kai) KAI! Those are MINE (rips the fangs out)

Tala: I rest my case…..

Kai: This is such a bitch why do I always have to do the disclaimer (sighs) anyway Nari doesn't own us (thank every deity on Earth) she only owns the bastard Nikolai...

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 13 Twilight Mind

_"Our course is coarsely plotted  
On a map of shoddy dreams,  
But hindsight will reveal  
Time's moving faster than it seems.  
Maybe I'm just selfish,  
I've got nothing left to give.  
I'm still a foolish boy,  
I've got a lifetime left to live"_

(Madman by Thrice)

Max slowly stirred on the hard uncomfortable hospital bed, even with his eyes closed he could tell something wrong.

'Ehhh…awwww don't go darkness' he thought like a disappointed child. 'God damn it I guess I didn't die... bastards!' A tiny voice at the back of his head whined. Slowly he opened his eyes, everything was blurred and Max knew it wasn't from blood loss; someone had obviously taken away his glasses; another thing he noticed was his face stung like a badly done shaving job. He tried to talk but all that came out of his mouth was a mumbled groan and the back of his throat felt like a desert salt flat.

Max heard someone gasp; looking over towards the door he saw a tray nearly slip from the blunette nurse's hands as she saw he was awake and ran out to get a doctor.

'This is so deja vu…' the blonde thought squinting around the small white room, it was sparsely furnished with rolling trolleys and hard plastic hospital chairs placed randomly around it.

Grey eyes burrowed into him from the shadows behind circular rimmed glasses. "Max..." Kyoujyu said barely hiding his anger, as he walked over and sat down in the hard plastic chair next to the Max's bed. He had been coming down to see his friend everyday waiting for him to wake up, taking shifts with Tala at Max's bedside. "So...third time not lucky huh?" he stated calmly, crossing his arms over his chest "Do you know how many years you've taken off my life! Kami-sama what were you thinking"

" Urgh Ky...o" Max half mumbled, not knowing what to say to his childhood friend, and half choked on the breathing tube.

It was just the doctor walked in completely unaware of the tension permeating the small room.

"Ah Mizuhara-san you're finally awake I see, just as nurse Shounintoku said" the elderly overweight Englishmen said putting down his clip board and files on the bed, before turning off the respirator and help Max take out his breathing tube. "I'm Dickenson, head of ICU at Satoshi General Hospital" he said, looking over at Kyoujyu "And you are sir?".

"A family friend, Dr. Fujitama Kyoujyu" the 16 year old stated with distain, glaring the balding man down as his eyes widened with surprise at the title 'Kami-sama! honestly when are people going to stop that!' he thought furiously, running his fingers through his thick brunette hair."

Dr. Dickenson stared at Kyoujyu skeptically "Doctor? What's your doctorate? You don't look old enough to have been to University" he asked a little too pompously.

Kyoujyu growled to himself "Well looks can be deceiving than, I have a doctorate each in Computer Programming, Modern History and Astrophysics and also a diploma in English, all from Todei...now shouldn't you get back to your patient" he replied, a smug smirk across his lips.

"_Cough_...what..._cough_... what are...you on about Kyou..._gasp_...you've only got 2 I thought you were..._cough_...still doing Astrophysics, you..._cough_...helping Mom up at Nisshouku" Max said, his voice dry and raspy.

"Huh...Max that was over a year ago, you should know that..." Kyoujyu said, concerned about his friend over powering his anger.

looked in his file and looked pointedly at Max "Max what year do you think it is and what is your age?" he asked worriedly.

Max's brow furrowed in deep thought before he answered "Uh...it's just gone 2005...and I'm um...nearly 15" he looked around from his friend to the doctor nervously "Is something wrong...?".

**&&&**

Tala flexed his arms lifting the 50kg bar above his head in one swift movement, ever since Max had tried to kill himself he'd made an effort to a way to relieve his frustration and anger other than cutting. He'd never liked training but lifting weights and bashing the crap out of the punching bag made him feel a whole lot better and it kept Boris off his back, literally.

After a minute he lowered his arms and let the weight drop to the ground where it bounced up before rolling away. He was tired Max had been in his coma a lot longer than the first time he'd tried suicide, so far he'd been unconscious for nearly a month the doctors kept asking his Father for permission to turn off the life support saying he's been in the coma too long to wake up on his own and even if he did he would have brain damage and other problems.

Tala knew for some reason in his heart Max would wake up, he just knew it, he was more worried about Kai. His friend had been different ever since he'd seen Max like that, Kai was even more moody and aggressive with dark lines and bags under his eyes and Tala knew they weren't from eye liner.

He could feel in the back of his mind that other personalities were forming in him other than Nikolai and Tala was very concerned about his friend, he had to help him get back to normal, well normal for Kai anyway because having some who acted like an eight year old was annoying as hell.

Tala just didn't know what to do, this was alot different from Nikolai. He hadn't suddenly appeared out of no where it was gradual, he was born from the pain and guilt he felt after the failed mission Kai had been their commander, he was responsible for anything that happened even if it wasn't his fault and Boris made sure he didn't forget.

_Kai's back was to Tala, he slowly turned his back hunched over his face covered by shadows._

_Tala stared at his adopted brother with concern "Kai…" he whispered stepping backwards._

"_Hehehe…" Kai laughed insanely his eyes squinted and sharper than ever, peering out from the dark like two pools of fresh blood, void of all emotion and a murderous smirk plastered across his pale face. Blood dripped down from the boy's hands and chin. _

_Tala backed away slowly fear in his cerulean eyes, his military training being thrown out the window, "Kai what's wrong with you?" he said hearing the metal door clank against his back._

"_Kai?...Who is this Kai…no…no we are not Kai…Nikolai…yes that is our name weakling…die…they all must die every last one…ehehehehe just like Father told us…if we don't kill he will be unhappy with us" Kai rambled crazily, looking straight through Tala, and started to hit himself in the head "he must die! Die! LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HIS BLOOD MUST SPILL" he walked towards Tala his left leg and arm hanging limp at his side for some reason, as if there was something inside fighting against him._

_Tala grabbed the thick rusted handle of the door only to find it locked, panicking he started to kick it, harder and harder with his still awkward artificial leg. _

_CREAK...the rusted metal finally snapped, suddenly swinging back into the empty hall way, making him fall over as he went for his last kick._

_"AHHH!" Tala screamed feeling the knife slice into his shoulder and blood slowly trickle down his side. 'Stay calm Tal' there has to be a way out of this without hurting Kai, please let there be!' he thought frantically cringing as Kai drove the knife further into his back. 'Ok this may be painful, well even more so but it's the only way to do it...' he said to himself popping his shoulder out of his socket and felt the knife get pushed out 'I knew there was a reason I'm double jointed...' he staggered up to his feet, holding on to the door frame weakly. _

_He turned around, Tala hadn't done anything to Kai but he was already on the ground clutching his head._

_"Can't... hurt...him, Tala...run...please" Kai said gasping for air, Tala didn't know why until he saw the handle of the knife sticking out of the right side of Kai's chest, blood seeped out. The boy was tired, using most of remaining strength to hold his other side back._

_"Kai!" he shouted "What's going on?" Tala stared wide-eyed at his friend._

_Kai didn't respond. His face was still crunched up in pain and tiredness but he wasn't moving or breathing even, a small convulsion going through his small body._

_Tala crawled over "KAI! WAKE UP COME ON!" he shouted shaking the blunette._

_"Cough...cough...Tal' you...moron" he whispered weakly._

They had both spent three weeks in hospital and Boris hadn't been happy that his best soldiers were out of action, neither was Voltaire. Tala still remembered the smug look on Boris' face when he found out about Nikolai though, he was always liked having something to black mail them with.

_RING RING RING... _his cheap mobile phone rang in the background, snapping the Russian out of his reverie. Wiping the sweat off his pale brow to walked over to where he'd dumped his things a few hours before. Flipping it open he spoke into it, his voice sharp and annoyed "Yeah Tala here..."

'It's Rei...Tala you have to come down to the hospital quick!' Rei said frantically over the line.

"What is it Rei? Calm down!" he yelled to the Chinese boy.

'Max! He's woken up!'

"Max...is awake" Tala whispered, suddenly feeling himself go weak at the knees in shock he quickly sat down.

'Yeah...he's ok but from what Kyou said there something wrong with him'

"What's wrong with him I thought you said he's ok" he half choked

'I don't know Kyou just said it was nothing life threatening' Rei said in a voice that made Tala almost imagine him shrugging as he answered.

The redhead sighed shaking his head frustratedly "Ok...I'll be there soon" Tala told him clicking his phone off.

'Max...should I go?' he thought looking down at his chest, the scars had healed weeks ago but they still hurt sometimes.

Picking up his duffel bag he shoved his things inside and zipped it back up "Well I guess I have no choice...che when do I ever have a choice?" he said to himself staring at the tattered calendar hanging flimsily from the plaster wall "Hmmm March 16th..." he whispered and started to hum a sad tune "...happy birthday...to me..." and walked slowly over to the showers.

**&&&**

_Max's POV_

Kyou walked back in after his long discussion with the doctor. Just as he got to the door though a girly looking Asian boy, I've never seen before, ran up him asking him something, the guy's face contorting through multiple emotions from shock to concern as Kyou said something to him. I couldn't hear anything they were saying Kyou'd closed the door behind him when he went into the corridor but I could still see them through the large window in the wall.

Kyou walked back in shutting the door behind him carefully, he looked like he was deep in thought.

I stared up at Kyou "What is going on here Kyou? What?" I said, my voice sounding like an old man with emphysema. My wrists sting and chafe against the leather straps, the stupid doctors put me in restraints, the bastards! Goddamn it Mom should be here by now; if she was here it would take like 2 seconds for her to get me out of here. My nose is itching and I really want to scratch it, damn these stupid feeding tubes down my nose.

"You don't remember?" He asked sitting down at the end of my bed.

"What is there to remember? Come on Kyou what's with the restraints and where's Ka-san?" I questioned him; something was wrong, definitely wrong.

Kyou looked away, his usually blank face showing sadness "Max...Judy...died...a year ago" He whispered, his eyes shadowed by his thick bangs.


	14. Blood Tinged Tears

**(Stops smacking head against brick wall) Yeah I've finally finshed this chapter...let us all rejoice folks! Sorry no Yaoi though I've finally excepted I just can't write it T.T I think I'll stick to Shounen Ai for now**

**Yes I do own Dema and Grisha, their idiots anyway lol if anyone wants to use them their welcome just give credit ok they may be incompetant kidnappers but they're my imcompetant kidnappers lol**

**Anyway Merry Christmas everyone hehehe I'm only here for the presents eh Christianity? What's that? lol my black socialist soul weeps with all the consumerism x.X lol  
**

**Tala:** And remember Nari doesn't own us in anyway, she owns Li Cui but...she won't be around for much longer now will she! Mhuahahahaha-cough-choke- ehehe um...yeah

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 14 Blood Tinged Tears

_'I want a lover I don't have to love  
I want a boy who's so drunk he doesn't talk  
And where's the kid with the chemicals?  
I got a hunger and I can't seem to get full  
I need some meaning I can memorize  
The kind I have always seems to slip my mind _

_But you...  
But you..._

_You write such pretty words  
But life's no storybook  
Love's an excuse to get hurt  
and to hurt _

_Do you like to hurt?  
I do, I do _

_Then hurt me...' _

_(Lover I Don't Have To Love by Bright Eyes) _

"...So clear now that you are all that I have..." Max sung quietly laying on his back as he stared up at the blue ceiling. He'd been going over the events of the last few days in his mind and nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

The doctors had been kept him in hospital for three days after he'd woken up before he was discharged. The night before Kyoujyu and Rei had finally explained things to him.

He knew know that his father had disowned him; at least now Max knew why he was always away from home...he had another family across town. Kyou had found out when he was back in Kurohashi and decided to check up on Max three weeks before, that's when he found out Max was in the coma.

Kyou had barely gotten Max's stuff out before his father started selling it.

Max had lost all his energy, he was tired and lethargic; everything was too much for him at the moment in a couple of days his life had turned itself on it's head at least that's how it felt for Max and he couldn't get over it. Now he knew why he'd always hated the man, when he always moved on to something new when he couldn't gain anything from it anymore.

Max was used to that feeling, but for the bastard to leave him homeless and destitute was what really hurt and now he'd been replaced…again, he had no family.

He stared out at the snow drifting on the wind currents outside, it was so close to spring yet it was still wet and cold. His black nails tapping against the glass along to the music coming from his earphones.

He was glad Rei had invited him to stay with him. Max didn't like asking anyone and he knew everyone else he knew couldn't take him in.

Max looked over at the Rei, lying on the futon curled up in a ball under his thick quilts, being from southern China he wasn't really used to the cold yet. A rare smile briefly crept across the blonde's face as he heard the Chinese boy purr under his fabric cocoon.

Max sighed, flopping back down on the bed, silk lined pillows cushioning his head and back 'Rei really shouldn't have given me his bed' he thought staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling.

"No...Baba..." Rei whimpered in his sleep.

"Urgh... I might as well get out of bed" Max sighed again pushing the quilt off. He sat up, shivering slightly and regretted he only wore a singlet and shorts to bed. He yawned; picking up his glasses off the bed side table before he got up and walked out down the hallway. Pulling on his slippers a slip of bright red paper stuck to outside of the sliding door caught his attention. Ripping it off Max stared at it, it was obviously written by Rei the kanji was too neatly written for anyone else he knew and there was those chibi sketches off Kai, Tala, Rei and himself as well drawn around it.

_**Dear Max,**_

_If you are reading this then I'm probably still asleep, sorry about that. There is a map of the flat on the other side, if you haven't been able to find anything yet. I hope your stay here is as happy as it possibly can be under the situation._

_**Rei**_

He shoved the paper into the pocket of his green shorts shaking his head "Rei, you seriously need to stop thinking of others".

Max walked through the lounge room into the miniscule kitchen. Opening the cupboards he found little that didn't need some preparation and cooking, savaging through right to the back he finally found something...

"EUREKA..." he cried, in his hands he held a single dust covered cup of instant ramen "Eh...it'll do" he sighed and peeled off the lid partially adding boiling water from the electric kettle.

**&&&**

Under his cocoon Rei's sensitive nose started to twitch, his blurry amber eyes snapped open and he spot up out of bed towards the kitchen.

Max looked up just as the noodles were about to touch his lips. Rei's hand quickly karate chopped the cup out of his blonde friend's hands, the liquid spilling over the wooden floor.

"Evil..." Rei hissed, gasping for breath "how dare you contaminate my kitchen with that vile instant food!" he pointed at Max dramatically.

Max looked in shock from Rei to his empty hand and back again stuttering "You...but...it...but...NOOOOOOO!" he crumpled to his knees theatrically staring at his poor spilt ramen.

Rei sweat dropped "I thought I told you last night that I would cook" he explained pulling the blonde off the floor "Come on go in the lounge and wait while I make some breakfast".

"Ok..." Max whined a little childishly and sighed as he threw himself down on the couch.

An hour later with Max's stomach grumbling the whole time smelling the things cooking; Rei stepped out of the kitchen his hands weighed down with plates of Cantonese food.

The two ate in silence. Max was deep in thought and even though he loved the food he found himself picking at it with his chopsticks.

Rei looked up at his friend poignantly. "Something wrong Max?" he asked "...No..." he said continuing to stare into his steaming bowl of fish and vegetable Congee "...Yes...I don't know...it's just..." Max looked into Rei's eyes than away quickly blushing.

"Let me guess, has it got something to do with Tala by any chance?" he asked, mentally rolling his eyes.

Max's face glowed red at the name "He didn't visit me in hospital did?" he whispered.

"Of course he did...it's just you only just woke up and he's had a lot of trouble with Kai lately, he visited you everyday you know" Rei said looking back on the last month, he laughed softly"...deja vou".

**&&&**

_- Rei's POV - _

Yesterday I was sitting across from Max at the table at breakfast, he's been very quiet I think the events of the last couple of days has been too much for him to cope with.

Well it seems he still has some form of feelings for Tala even after loosing a year and a half from his memory.

Tala has stayed away, the idiot, I told him Max would need him in a time like this there's no knowing what he'll do. We all know (well except Maxie) it's obvious he loves him yet he's holding back.

I can't believe Max and Tala those two are so infuriating.

I've been doing some exploring around the city lately but mainly hanging around the commercial districts or my flat. I've only realized even though there are a lot of shops and stuff there isn't really much to do in Kurohashi.

I thought up what to call the guys for short dun dun dun… The Primary's get it Kai, Max and Tala, Blue, Yellow and Red I know I'm so sad…I need a social life so I don't have to spend all my time thinking of these stupid things. That is why I'm currently laying upside down on the couch twiddling my thumbs! Ahhhh screw it…what's the time 5 O'clock ARGH NOTHING TO DO.

I want to see Kai, and Tala won't tell me what's up with him lately. He is more moody than normal, sorry for saying that but he can be and if he wants to Kai can go a whole week without talking at all! The only way you know he's listening to you his if he grunts at you. Ok Rei stop yourself before you go into a rant...again

Max has gone back into our room to sort his things out. I think I'll go for a walk, I've got nothing better to do at the moment except mope around watching Max mope even more while moving boxes for the whole weekend.

**&&&**

_- normal pov -_**  
**

In a small dimly light office Boris glared at the woman from where he sat behind his heavy oak desk, she'd said she had some information that would interest him.

'This better be good!' he thought angrily, having been woken up by one of his nameless staff early on the Monday morning.

"I'm sorry for visiting you this early Mr. Balkov..." she addressed him politely, her black bangs falling in front of her emerald eyes as she bowed.

"Cut with the pleasantries woman what are you here for?" he cut her off bluntly, running his fingers impatiently through his unkempt purple hair.

"I am Fang Li Cui and I have a proposition for you that I believe will benefit the both of us" She said pulling out a dossier of files and photo graphs from her coat. She smirked to herself 'Yes...' she thought fiddling with the diamond and emerald ring on her left hand 'Soon you will be mine Rei dear...'

**&&&**

Rei leaned against the brick wall staring across at the clothes in the many shop windows lining the small pedestrian street.

_This is what I brought you, this you can keep...This is what I brought, you may forget me...I promise to depart, just promise one thing...Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep..._

Rei pulled his mobile phone out of his jacket, he stared at the unfamiliar number for a couple of seconds before answering "Hello?..." he said suspiciously.

_'...Rei...dear...'_ the woman on the other end replied, with an arrogant and presumptuous nature to her voice.

"Woman...I told you to get out of my life!" Rei yelled angrily into his handset.

_'Awwww Rei is that any way to treat your mother?'_

"You are not my mother...what kind of mother would never try to turn her son into a girl!" He screamed, his fists clenching at his side.

_'Hehehehe you'll see my side soon enough...just think of your little blue haired friend before you do anything Rei dear...' _

"WOMAN YOU LISTEN BITCH YOU TOUCH KAI AND YOU WON'T BE NEEDING YOUR LIMBS ANYMORE!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the narrow street.

_beep...beep...beep_

**&&&**

Tala stared at Kai's sleeping form.

He was angry at the scientists but more so Boris. Tala thought they'd gone too far with the last experiment; it was obvious Kai wasn't ready yet but what did they care all they wanted was results.

"Please stop...don't let him out...no" Kai mumbled in his sleep, his arms twitched as if struggling against something.

Tala stroked his friends slate blue hair slowly. He pulled the blanket over Kai some more and stood up moving towards the window.

"I'm sorry Kai, you were right I should have done this a long time ago" He sighed pulling himself up onto the window ledge.

**&&&**

Max grunted as he picked up an unusually heavy box, heaving it up onto the shelf.

"Goddamn this is hard work..." he whined before he realized no one was there to hear him complain "REI?" he called out down the hall way poking his head out of the small alcove.

Max wandered down into the lounge room looking around for his missing friend.

"That's strange I thought he was in our room...ah..." he sighed when a piece of paper on the coffee table caught his eye, the blonde picked it up and read the short message scrawled across it.

_**Max,**_

_Gone out for a walk be back later. If you need me call my mobile._

_**Rei **_

Just as he put it down he heard a knock at the door and turned around to open it.

Max's blue eyes widened as he saw who was leaning in the doorway.

"Hey are you just going to stand there or let me in Maxie..." The red head said giving him a fake smile.

Max just continued staring, taking in Tala's form he different from what he remembered and he could see through the mask he had slipped on. He turned walking back into the apartment allowing Tala to come in.

"You never visited..." the blonde whispered his head bowed.

"Max...I've busy with Kai" Tala replied flatly; his mask slipping a little to allow his scowl to show through.

"What's so important that you couldn't have just seen me once?...HUH!" Max yelled his anger slowly coming to the surface, he didn't know why he was angry at his best friend he'd never felt this way before, it was almost like he was jealous of Kai.

"We've spent our whole lives together Max he's like a brother to me..." He growled "So it's true you've forgotten...I waited...I waited a month nearly for you to wake up...and I sat by your bed every day...do you think that I'm as cold hearted as everyone else seems to think?" Tala walked up to him slowly and put his hand on Max's shoulder pulling the boy around roughly.

Max looked into Tala's wide blue eyes, like frozen pools, emotion starting to leak through. He could tell his friend was upset by what he'd said but he couldn't have predicted what Tala would do next.

"...mmmph..." Max squeaked suddenly feeling the crushing pressure of the red head lips pressing against his own.

**&&&**

Rei ran down the streets, he had to find Kai. He knew she never made idle threats Li Cui would never stop until she got her way and she wasn't very perturbed by the idea of killing to get what she wanted...after all she'd done it before.

He stopped at the bus stop and leant against the sign, trying to catch his breath. 'Ok Rei what to what to do we don't even know where Kai is and unless Tala visits he virtually drops off the face of the planet when we aren't in school' he thought panicking a little 'Calm down Rei if we don't know where Kai is than neither does she...I hope' he dropped himself down on the bench and waited for the next bus to come along.

A white haired man laughed to himself in the shadows of an alley not far away from where Rei was sitting, as he stared at the raven haired teen with his empty hazel eyes. "I have him in sight, over" he spoke into his radio and made a hand signal to his brunette comrade across the road disguised as a newsagent clerk packing the morning papers.

Staring at the man across the road something twigged in Rei's mind, something felt wrong for one thing who would be that cheerful on a Monday morning and why would a newsagent only be putting its papers out for sale at 10 am. Slowly Rei made to stand looking around him 'Gods damn that woman, Mother damn predicted I would try to warn Kai...I played right into her hands' he berated himself for being so stupid 'And it looks like she has help this time too' he spotted the second man out of the corner of his eye and sighed 'Oh well it seems she underestimated me as well' he thought smirking with his cat like fangs glinting in the morning light.

Rei walked coolly down the road thinking they were just two thugs his mother had charmed into doing her dirty work.

**&&&**

Max stared out over the railing of the pier into murky water of the harbor. After Tala had run out he'd started having flashbacks, they all looked liked random events from the last year but they all had one thing in common - Tala.

"Ahhhh..." he gasped clutching his skull as another memory flooded into his mind.

_Hiromi and her pack of clones giggled behind their manicured fingers, staring in the direction of Max as Chemistry ended. _

_Three of the brunette teeny bopper punk wannabes walked over to him still giggling their heads off. They whispered excitedly amongst themselves before one was pushed forward by the other two. _

"_Hey Mizuhara you know Hiromi likes you, like like likes you" she said between giggles her purple eyes filled with malice. _

"_Yeah totally Tachibana- sama told us herself…" another added looking away. _

"_Megumi and Kiki are like her best friends they should know" said the third flicking her hair. _

_Tala rolled his eyes at the girls' pathetic act and stood up walking over from his assigned seat to help Max out. _

"_Why don't you go pick on someone of your own intelligence Amoebas" he commented seating himself down next to Max. _

"_What'd you call us loser?" she cried. _

"_I called you an amoeba which as most people know is a one celled organism or were you busy applying make up to that over sized pimple you call a nose that biology lesson" Tala said calmly. _

"_You're just jealous you'll never be like us!" the girl screamed _

"_Yeah I really want to be some slutty stupid teenage girl who wears last season's clothes and applies a inch of make up on her face a day" he replied sarcastically his cold blue eyes looking straight through them. _

"_Well at least I'm not gay!" she said lamely struggling to think up a come back quickly enough. _

_Someone else behind her coughed loudly so even an idiot could hear the word 'YAOI' and all the clones laughed. _

_Tala raised an eyebrow and Max backed away slowly not sure what his crimson haired friend was about to do or say but when ever he raised his brow nothing good could be being thought up in that brain of his. _

_Tala licked his lips smirking. "Or are you? You do spend a great deal of time around girls who don't even like you as a friend" he shot back, she wasn't much of a trial for him and her unintelligible comebacks were boring him. Max cringed and tried to block any mental images that might come from what Tala was about to say. _

"_You would you like to come to dinner tonight?" Tala asked her smirking _

"_WHAT! With a loser like you" she screamed jumping slightly "What could you possibly have for dinner anyway from your clothes you like look like a total tramp" _

_Tala growled at that but went on "Well I was thinking having you I heard from an old friend in Russia Human sashimi is quite the delicacy…" he licked his lips again eyeing her. _

"_EWWWWWWW CANNIBAL AHHHH" the group screamed trying to get as far away as possible from him. _

_After they'd left he turned back to Max. _

"_Hey Maxie just ignore them, they're just little bitches anyway…" Tala said trying to comfort his friend, the red head thought Max was a little too sensitive for his own good but he still comforted him anyway he'd only just gotten out of hospital. _

"_Yeah I know; it's just why does everyone around here seems to hate me so much?" the blonde asked tears streaming down his face. _

"…_well I don't hate you and Kai doesn't no matter how much of a mute he seems to be" Tala whispered hugging him "Remember no matter what happens I'll be there for you friends don't abandon each other to the vultures" his voice hitched slightly on the word friends but he still gave his trademark half smile and ruffled Max's hair. _

"But what does it mean...do I like Tala other than a friend...no...that impossible...I can't be gay" he whispered glaring down at his reflection "Mom's dead...Takao's dead and Father's kicked me out of the house why does fate have throw this at me as well...fucking bastards I don't need this all I want is some 'normalcy' in my life CHIKUSO!" his fist slammed down on the rickety wooden railings splinters embedding into his skin and he cringed, ripping the slithers of wood out of his hand.

**&&&**

"GET YOU FILTHY HANDS OFF OF ME" Rei screamed struggling against his attacker but that only made the man cover his mouth.

"Calm down little kitty we're not going to hurt you...much" the white haired man said in a broken Russian accent and laughed "AHHHH FUCK YOU LITTLE FUCKING BASTARD" he screamed releasing his grip on Rei.

"Now who's the little kitty" Rei snarled blood trickling down from his chin.

"Cool it Grisha they want him in one piece you moron" the Brunette yelled running over.

"FUCK ORDERS THE LITTLE BITCH BIT MY FUCKING HAND!!" Grisha yelled angrily lunging at Rei, he pinned the raven haired teen to the ground leering at him. Rei tried not to appear scared but that didn't stop him from trembling with the man lying on top on him like that. Grisha smirked and grabbed the boy's with his bony hand, flaps of bleeding skin hung limply from the man's palm; he slammed his mouth against Rei bruising his tender lips. The Chinese boy started to panic 'No...not again...' he thought, he started to hyperventilate his breath becoming quick and shallow as memories flashed through his mind...and that's where everything went blank.

"...Rei...wake up...they're gone..." a familiar yet garbled voice said shaking him gently. Slowly Rei opened his eyes, they stung from the light and his face felt wet. He looked up his brain not recognizing the person holding for a couple of seconds 'Kai...' he thought slightly confused '...why is he crying?' as he stared up into his red rimmed crimson eyes barely registering the Russian's cropped hair and blood splattered clothes.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the two hobbling away slowly, Grisha leaning heavily on Dema his long white hair stained crimson.

Rei sat up with Kai's help, "What happened?" he said tiredly.

"...I don't know you were already out of it when I found you" Kai told him helping his koi to his feet.

"What...happened...to you...I haven't...seen you for...two weeks..." Rei whispered, gasping as he tried to get his breath back.

"...I'll explain later...let's just get you home..." he brushed Rei's question off, quickly changing the subject "I heard from Tala that Max woke up" Kai looked around warily his free hand fiddling with the holster attached to the back of his belt.

"Come...on Kai" Rei gasped "Be honest with me, something's been up with you lately" and he leaned more on the slate haired boy, he was exhausted and he could feel his sore wrists and ankles starting to bruise.

Kai sighed "Boris...hasn't been...happy with my performance lately in tests..." he struggled trying to find the right words "he increased training and he made me do double sessions in the vacuum chamber..." as they turned onto the main road he directed Rei over to a run down looking Nissan parked awkwardly with two wheels up on the sidewalk "Get in, what?"

Rei stared at him questionably "Did you steal it?" he asked, not seeing any of the windows smashed he wondered if Kai had done this before.

"...Maybe, lets just say I procured it by very dubious means that we will not discuss here" Kai stated looking around shiftily as he pulled out a roll of rigid plastic and slipped it in the gap between the door and frame, fiddling with up and down before the door clicked open "Hurry up Rei we don't have all day, haven't you ever stolen a car before?" he started to get impatient at his boyfriend's hesitance.

Rei looked at him weirdly 'I should have known...' he thought mentally slapping himself before getting into the passenger seat and pulled his seatbelt over his left shoulder as he buckled up he noticed there was a manual gear stick 'Whoa I didn't think there was still manual's in Japan damn this town is poor'.

As Kai drove them back to his apartment they sat in complete silence, Rei didn't want to distract him and knew Kai didn't like to speak anymore than had to; it gave him time to think over what had gone on and take in Kai's new appearance for the first time. The teens hair was hastily cut unprofessionally as if the person doing it was just hacking off hair randomly, Kai's normally spiked slate blue half of his hair was only a third of it's original length falling back over the raven blue hair at the back though his bangs were still barely long enough to fall in his eyes. Rei's eyes fell over his pale arms there were needle marks covering the undersides some forming potholes where the veins had collapsed and from the brief glimpse he'd had Rei could see a small wound that looked as if a catheter had just been ripped straight out of Kai's arm with the blood barely starting to crust over and he could see him grimace when he had to change gears.

There were dark circles underneath his narrowed eyes and he occasionally muttered something inaudible to himself. All he wore was a white t-shirt with a picture of a slinky on it and blue cargo pants, that were so baggy they were at a risk of slipping off and were most likely Tala's seeing as he had the ends of his pants rolled up at least twice.

Apart from his change of appearance something also bothered Rei, how did he know he was there? He hadn't told anyone; not even Max, where he was going something just didn't feel right.

As they moved within a block of Rei's apartment Kai stopped the car and stepped out, he wavered a little getting to his feet and clutched his head again in pain as he mumbled something under his breath. His breathing hitched as another image flashed into his mind.

_The sky was navy blue and dotted with the one or two stars that were visible through the pollution. Kai could see through the man's eyes as he stared into the churning pitch black water with a large bottle of Vodka in one hand and the other clutching for dear life on the rail to stay on his feet. Kai could feel the tears running down the person's face freely as he hick upped between mouthfuls of alcohol._

_"Heh...heh...Na zdorovje" he laughed barely able to stand. (1)  
_

"What's wrong?" Rei said waving a hand in front of his clouded eyes.

"Nothing..." he whispered shaking his head "Lets get inside and get you cleaned up"

Rei looked at him quizzically for a couple of seconds before nodding silently, he knew Kai was being completely honest with him but he let it go he had other concerns at the moment.

**&&&**

Max didn't know why he did it...it just seemed so natural to him, as if his body was working by itself.

When he'd woken up he'd wondered why his arms were littered with thin scars crisscrossing each other. The blade had been sitting there in plain reach, hanging in front of his eyes as if taunting him.

"No..." he whispered taking the blade away from his skin "What's the point?...it won't accomplish anything...will it?" Max put the knife back and walked out of the store tiredly, letting the drops of blood to soak into the black sleeve of his shirt as he trudged down the narrow back streets of the commercial district.

**&&&**

Kai carefully rubbed ointment into Rei's bruised arms.

The two hadn't said a word to each other for the past ten minutes, Rei knew Kai could go on like this for days but it was starting to really irritate him…he needed something to break the awkward silence that permeated the room.

"…I'm sorry…" Rei whispered lying back on top of his futon.

"For what?" Kai asked bluntly not looking up at him "It wasn't your fault that guy kissed you…" and wrapped his arms around himself.

"…Do you love me Kai?" Rei's question cut through the silence like a knife.

The blunette didn't know how to answer, so he just did what he always did in these sorts of situations and just came out with it "Yes I love you, don't you ever doubt that" he said trying not to sound so blunt.

"No one's ever loved me for me...it's always been to gain something..." The Chinese boy said softly brushing his fingers through his hair deep in thought.

Kai sat down next him on the bed wondering what he was thinking about when Rei slipped his t-shirt off. Kai was taken aback; Rei's chest and stomach were covered with scars...but they were different to his, they were neat and precise cutting deep into the skin and muscle.

"When I was twelve my mother paid a doctor to operate on me..." he said looking at the floor "She wanted me to have surgery to change me into a girl"

Kai not really knowing what to do slowly wrapped his arms around him "She can't hurt you anymore Rei I'll die before she gets her hands you...you, Max and Tala are the only things I care about anymore I won't let anything happen" he whispered.

Rei's eyes clouded over tears running down his face, his lips quivered whispering between sobs not noticing he had started to speak in Cantonese. Kai looked directly in his amber eyes "I don't know what you're saying Rei but whatever happened I'll always love you" he said kissing him on the forehead.

**&&&**

"…You hear me God" he spat frustrated up at the sky throwing the rock he clenched in his fist with as much energy he could muster into the ocean, taking a mouthful from the bottle of whisky, it was his second bottle that night but he was beyond caring, as he watched the rock skip across the harbor leaving a trail of ripples behind it.

"Who cares anymore?..." he whispered "No one ever loved me..." and laid down on the board walk wrapping his arms around his thin form 'What an idiot' he thought, all he had to protect him against the icy night air was a thin hoodie and cargo pants, he shivered like someone with Parkinsons and it was only the alcohol keeping him from feeling like an ice cube. Tala knew Kai would probably kill him, himself if he saw him like this...

Tears ran down his pale face slowly dripping down onto the wooden planks "Kai was right...only idiots fall in love with someone who'll never love them back..."

Tala took another swig from the bottle and wiped the dripping alcohol from around his mouth. He'd thought about suicide before; you wouldn't be normal if you didn't living in the 'Abbey' as Boris called it but Max had pushed him too far he felt humiliated and anger rose from inside him.

"WHY? WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME?" He screamed into the night "Why…can't anybody love me?" he whispered slumping down to the ground as he started to cough, vomiting over the planks.

**&&&**

Kai kissed Rei running his hand through the Chinese teens raven bangs 'Good...' he thought '...he's finally asleep' as he slowly sat up in bed and pushed the heavy covers of himself, the cold air prickling his naked skin.

"We need to do this...she needs to know she's not apart of his life anymore..." Kai told himself as he stood up and started getting dressed.

Just as he finished buckling his belt, Kai turned for one last glance at Rei before leaving.

**&&&**

In his darkened office Boris sat sipping from a heavy glass cup, dark amber liquid sloshing at the bottom.

"Boris sir, do you really think she will really take you at your word?" one of the many underlings crawling around the room said.

Boris stared up at him "What does it matter? She is only a useless pawn and the woman doesn't even know it yet…" he murmured holding his glass up to what little light was in the room "You know both scotch and coke look exactly the same in appearance it's only when you drink it do you know the potency…" a smirk crept over his pale aged face. (2)

**&&&**

"So you found me Kai...heh...I knew it wouldn't be long before you caught on" Li Cui said smirking and leant against the brick wall.

"Then get the hell out of Rei's life!" Kai yelled without meaning to.

"Aww and here I thought you were going to hand Rei over to me...oh too bad it doesn't now" she whispered examining Kai with her emerald eyes "I will get my little boy back and as they say if you want something done well you have to do it yourself"

"What are you on about?" he gasped 'How'd she get behind me?' he thought feeling something sharp push into his back; slowly he could feel numbness seep through his body.

"That was too easy" Li Cui commented smirking throwing away the syringe carelessly as Kai's body fell to the floor of the trashy apartment.

Kai groaned his blood red eyes snapping open, a smirk plaster on his face "Oh yes it was way too easy woman heheheh..."

In the distance people could hear a blood curdling scream echo into the night.

**&&&**

Max didn't know how long he'd been walking for but it felt like hours and his feet were starting to hurt. He looked around it was only about 3 in the morning and the docklands were well and truly empty.

"Ehhhh..." he heard someone groan weakly. Max looked around, he was confused he couldn't see anyone from where he was; walking over to the rails he peered down to the jetty. He was about to leave when something caught his eye in the dark as he turned away he saw something red out the corner of his eye.

"TALA!" He yelled running down the ramp to his friend.

**&&&**

_- Kai's POV -  
_

It was morning, the sun had just come up throwing blazing light and heat over the city streets but I couldn't feel anything. My eyes were wide with shock as I walked slowly down the streets looking like a wraith. If you looked closely you could see my hands were trembling.

The images ran through my mind like an old movie projector slow, mute and out of focus.

I killed her…

Nikolai had done the act but I could still hear her screams clearly as if she was right there…I can still feel her nails in my flesh, trying to stop him but only delaying the inevitable.

The blood still dripped slowly off my finger tips; drop by drop splashing on the concrete pavement. Both hers and my own…

Rei…what have I done? I only wanted her to stay away!

"WATCH WHERE THE FUCK YOU'RE GOING IDIOT..." A guy screamed at me picking himself up from the sidewalk.

"Sorry..." I whispered I didn't even notice banging into anyone though it wasn't as if I took any notice of my surroundings.

"SORRY IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY I BROKE MY FUCKING NOSE BASTARD!" he yelled grabbing hold my shirt roughly.

"I care why? Now unless you want to make anything of it get the hell out of my way..." I warned glaring into his large green eyes; he isn't even worth it no matter how better I would feel afterward, the drug is still in my system and the side effects has drained most of what little energy I had left.

'What's happening?" I thought, I could feel myself falling...so unconsciousness hmn sounds almost pleasant at the moment I just want to block out all this noise.

_'CALL AN AMBULANCE!'_

_'Why are you looking at me? I didn't do anything' _

_'Idiot...does anyone know CPR?' _

**TBC**

_(1) - Na __zdorovje - Russian version of 'Cheers!' _

_(2) - I've found this is actually real lol I was drinking LA Ice and I was like 'ZOMG this so tastes exactly like Scottie Foxes!' lol I really need to cut back on the alcohol references!  
_


	15. Calm Before The Storm

Thanks for the reviews Suzanne and xHitsulover - drunk!Tala is so much fun to write lol as well as perverted!Rei...sappy romance not so much, I need angst to live folks...I like to reread my own fics sometimes its funny - I find parts I don't remember writing at all! I mean Kai being a car thief, very hilarious! oh and if you were wondering - yes Kai and Rei did have hot sex in the last chapter I just can't write the smex very well past foreplay lol...I think you can guess from Rei who I prefer on top ohohoho :)

(FYI when I talk about their builds I was thinking more V-Force where Kai had been out of training for a while and lost alot of muscle.)

Normally once I finish writing and editing a chapter I'll post it immediately so there aren't going to be anymore double chapter posts - sorry folks I was only doing that coz this is an old fic and I was revising it ok - from chapter 15 onward its all new chapters! Chapter 15 was a bastard to finish so sorry folks for the low word count!

Disclaimer: Don't own - Kai could probably own Beyblade though lol he's rich enough!

**All That's Left**  
Chapter 15 Calm Before The Storm

_She and the lady in the cape  
__Are suspect, thought to be in league;  
__Therefore the man with heavy eyes  
__Declines the gambit, shows fatigue,  
__  
Leaves the room and reappears  
__Outside the window, leaning in,  
__Branches of wistaria  
__Circumscribe a golden grin;_

_The host with someone indistinct  
__Converses at the door apart,  
__The nightingales are singing near  
__The Convent of the Sacred Heart,_

_And sang within the bloody wood  
__When Agamemnon cried aloud,  
__And let their liquid siftings fall  
__To stain the stiff dishonoured shroud._

_(Sweeney among the Nightingales by T.S Elliot)_

Kai woke up slowly feeling very groggy and disorientated...his vision was blurry, he'd never had a hang over but Kai was sure this is what it must feel like after watching Tala get drunk a couple of times before.

He felt cold, looking down he found someone had stripped him down to his black boxers and various electrodes glued to his pale body with metal cuffs strapped around his wrists and ankles. He knew where he was now, it wasn't just his eyes that were blurry Kai was floating in pale green liquid, bubbles swirling around in front of his face from the oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.

'The...tank' the blunette thought closing his crimson eyes again 'god...what did those fuckers dope me up with...I can barely move a muscle' Kai experimented and tried to move when he realised it wasn't a muscle relaxant making him feel so weak 'bastards...'.

"Hello Master Kai how are you today?" a deceptively courteous voice echoed through the cylindrical glass tube.

**&&&**

Tala knew he was dreaming...it was too quiet to be real. He winched at the pain in his head 'spoke too soon' he thought 'urgh...where the...hell am I' he felt drowsy and he could hear someone was yelling at him only it sounded faraway like they were the sound was travelling through water 'Urgh worst hang over ever!'.

"Tala...you need to wake up" the murky voice said, he knew that voice soft and kind yet at the same time so full of strength.

"Mom" he whispered "I don't know what to do...everything is just so screwed up now...with Max and I've done something really stupid now Kai won't even talk to me anymore..." he hung his head his thin red bangs brushing against his nose.

"Do what you think is right and screw everyone else" she whispered "Nothing can separate you from each other my boys not even Boris..." he could almost see her - her crimson eyes so much like Kai's "Kai will always be by your side no matter what...he's his father's son I'll give him that, he's just worried about you Tal you are all he has left" Tala almost smiled "If you really want something fight your arse off for it damn it!"

A old memory floated to the surface of his mind.

_Three year old Tala stood peering through the gap in the door, his light blue eyes large and inquisitive._

_Sveta stood there her fists raised angrily, her beautiful crimson eyes filled with utter hatred for the purple haired man infront of her._

'_You'll never have him, never he'll never be like you Motya you sick bastard' She yelled at Boris. _

_SLAP!!_

_She fell to the floor clutching her her dark red bangs falling over into her face, a dark hand-shaped bruise forming quickly on her snow white skin._

'_How dare a whore like you even think about calling me by that weak name!' he growled at her a sneer etched across his face._

'_Yuri was your best friend...your own cousin...you chose the easy way out you're the lowest coward...you're even worse than that slime Voltaire...' she screamed defiantly at him. _

_Tala cringed as he saw his adoptive mothers face, droplets of blood slowly leaking from her cut lip as he slap her again but her fiery pride would never let her back down._

_Suddenly Tala felt a presence behind him he look and there stood Yuri Hiwatari cradling the 28 month old Kai in his arms protectively, his face stern and his emerald eyes were full of anger._

'_Tala...take Kai and go to your room ok son' he ordered him calmly, bending down to hand Kai to Tala, he was born prematurely and was small for his age._

'_Dad? What's going on?' he asked at 3 going on four years old not understanding what was going on between his parents and the strange purple haired man._

'_Don't worry Tala' Yuri said patting the young boys head 'Just take Kai and go, I don't want you to see what I'm about to do'_

_Tala was about to argue but after seeing Yuri's face he decided against it and replied 'Okay...come on Kai' he held the toddler around the waist and legs._

_Shouting echoed down the hallway to the room the children shared, punches and kicks followed by a loud bang that could only have come from a gun shot. Tala curled up on his bed hugging Kai close to him with the blanket pulled firmly over their heads._

'_Mama...' Kai whimpered crying against the redheads dark blue was lucky for both of them that the blunette didn't remember anything from the night, being so young at the time Tala himself barely remembered the events the happened. Boris had left and didn't return that either of them knew about for another three years, their father had shot him in the shoulder blood spraying across the beige walls of their small rented apartment's lounge room staining two of with a fine mist of reddish brown._

"Tala?" a quiet voice called out to him.

Slowly Tala opened his ice blue eyes even though his vision was still a drunken blur.

"Mmmph..." the Russian moaned in pain, thinking he hadn't felt this bad since Kai had dared him to run through the streets naked during Chinese New Year when they were ten years old - running for his life from the local cops while having to dodge the firecrackers exploding around his feet only to be burned in some very uncomfortable places.

"Tala, you alright?" they asked putting a bottle of water to Tala's parched lips.

**&&&**

Rei slowly opened his soft amber eyes, he felt as if he hadn't slept at all and the aches and pains he was feeling in his legs and stomach muscles were nothing like he'd ever remembered experiencing when in martial arts training. He was tired, sore and covered in sweat but the only thing swirling around his mind at that moment was the cold prickling against his naked chest and the emptiness of waking up alone.

"Kai...?" he called out in his dark apartment, his bedroom barely lit with by the weak rays of silver light from the winter sun shining through the window. Rei combed his hand through his hair pushing the wild raven strands out of his face...it had felt a hell of a lot better if it had been the blunette running his hands through them like he had the night before though Kai had also had his tongue down Rei's throat at the time so it really was a fair comparison. Slowly he pushed the heavy layers of blankets and stood up , even in the biting cold morning air the thick coverings were making him sweat again and he already needed a shower badly, and for a second wondered why he had no pain before he remembered he hadn't been the one who'd been playing uke earlier.

Running as fast as he possibly could while his curtains were open Rei jumped under the warm flow of his slower 'Ahhh' he thought rubbing some jasmine scented gel over his aching muscles 'I really wished he'd stay now...' crimson splashed across the Chinese boy's face 'I did not just think that! Did I? Gah! One night and I've been turned into a pervert...no wonder Kai didn't stick around...I was probably trying to rape him in my sleep or something' he sighed resting his forehead against the tiled bathroom wall 'Though...now that I think about it...that was really...HOT' his eyelids snapped open his amber eyes sparkling with amusement and a sly grin plastered across his lightly tanned face.

**TBC**


	16. Staring At The Moon

Foreshadowing folks! hehehehe I'm so evil to Kai :) mhuahahaha.... anyway Max and Tala finally work out their relationship folks -major angst fest- ! le gasp! this chapter was so fun to write (smirk evilly) I think I've been watching the Homura arc of Saiyuki too much lately mmmmmmn (drools)

Anyway thanks to all those that read ATL especially those kind people who review like Suzanne! We're on the home stretch folks five more chapters at the most and then it will be finito! ....actually to be honest I have planned a sequel to this monstrosity which will unfortunately have the acronym of WITW, I'm hoping of starting it by the time my fifth year anniversary comes around.

Disclaimer: Hellz no! I don't own Beyblade otherwise Kai would be the main character and Hiro would be in a nursing home along with all the other blue rinse jobs!

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 16 Staring At The Moon

_I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.  
Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.  
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike  
I am not cruel, only truthful –  
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.  
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.  
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long  
I think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.  
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.  
_  
(Mirror by Sylvia Plath)

Rei stared up at the black night sky, his long legs hanging over the edge of the jetty. He'd just gotten a phone call from the police saying to go down to the station. They'd found a body...a woman...that needed to be identified.

'Well I guess I got my wish...' he thought tears rolling down his face 'I'll never...have to deal with her again...I'm crying and I don't know why...why am I feeling this way? she was a monster!' Rei punched his fist against the rickety wood.

**&&&**

Kai held the strange tiny black and silver metal object in the palm of his left hand, it was looked effectively like a spinning top, just like he used to play with when he was a child. His father had always told him not to and yelled at him for doing it...Kai never understood why - to him it was ridiculous even now that someone could ever be hurt by something so small... honestly the most it could ever do is maybe take out a eye or break your nose of it was going fast enough it's not like it's contains a thousands of years old spirit inside that makes it possible to use elemental attacks though the top. Though with all the weird shit that had happened in his life Kai wouldn't be surprised if irony decided to bite him in the ass.

**&&&  
**

Tala leaned tiredly against the balcony railing, a hot puff of cigarette smoke escaping from between his pale lips. There hadn't been any leads on where Kai was...there hadn't been any calls from the cops or either of the two hospitals...Tala didn't want to admit it but he was starting to get very worried about his adoptive brother, it was his job to protect Kai no matter what happened but he just kept on failing to keep his promises. He was angry and frustrated mostly at himself...the only thing keeping him calm enough not to punch the next person he saw in the face was the nicotine pumping through his veins.

"How long are you going to stay in there?" the red head asked staring up at the hazy looking sky, thick grey and silver clouds so painfully close to pouring down on top of all the unlucky bastards stupid enough to be walking around outside without an umbrella but never following through with their threat.

"..."

"Max..." Tala called out "Maaaaxxxxx you know you can't keep avoiding me it's been ten hours already! all I had was a bad hangover moron, it's not like I haven't been drunk before...quite sulking I know you got most of your memories back but you don't need to be so emo about it ok" he sighed he didn't want to pay his ace but the way Tala saw it there was really no other option "I tell ya your worse than Kai sometimes...you know that Kai would be kicking your ass if he knew"

"Kai would beat you in the face with a baseball bat if he'd known what condition you were in" Max finally replied "you call me overly emotional you're the one who fucking nearly drowned himself damn stupid ass drunk" the blonde stepped out of the alcove, a red towel wrapped tightly about his thin waist.

'Psych! heh!' The Russian teen thought mentally patting himself on the back "Hey I'm better now...I hear vomitting until you almost bleed is very therapeutic"

"Yeah right tinman" the blonde sighed rubbing a towel across his dripping hair, the flattened curls plastered to the sides of his freckled face.

"So I guess that would make you scarecrow...do we really want to go on with this analogy cos really we all know Kai's going to end up as Dorothy...not that he wouldn't look good in a dress" Tala joked sarcastically.

"Are you trying to mentally scar me Tala, and stop trying to distract me bastard" he commented, poking Tala in the chest pointedly.

"Ok..." he sighed in fake disappoint "but really aren't I allowed to have feelings Max I mean you did just run out on me after I kissed you so I guess I could be seen to be entitled to be a little depressed"

"A little depressed! Did you ever think of how I would feel! I did have amnesia moron" Max shouted at him angrily and showed him his wrist "I got these because of your little stunt...I was confused and Rei was my only friend and then some strange guy I barely remember walks in and plants one on me, great going there!"

"Yeah it wasn't that smart but felt like I had to do it I hadn't seen you since you went into hospital and Boris wouldn't let me out, I had to look after Kai! I was just really relieved that you were back ok...I'm sorry..." Tala argued and snuffed out his cigarette with his hand before wrapping arms around Max's thin shoulders gently and pulled the still dripping wet boy against him in an almost crushing hug.

"...Just stop scaring me so much..." he whispered softly against Tala's strong chest "...I don't want to loose anyone ever again" and slid his arms across the red head's back.

**&&&**

Kai only truly hated three things in the world Boris...the colour aquamarine and people who hurt his friends. This person unfortunately was going to join this very short list if that smug smirk wasn't beaten of their pale face with a 2x4 inbedded with rusty nails within the next two seconds.

'Urgh! This damn fucking bastard! I'm winning and this fucker is still smirking!' he yelled in his mind trying to keep his face as emotionless as he always was when he wasn't around Rei.

"This really is getting boring..." his opponent sighed twirling his red hair around his long fingers "Are you really putting your all into this? the way you're battling you really should quit right now before _beaten_ too badly..." he warned.

Kai's brow furrowed and he narrowed his crimson eyes at the emphasis the older boy put on the word beaten. 'Is he really trying to intimidate me at this late in the game...' he thought wondering what the hell the other was trying to get at.

"Heh come on let's liven things up a bit Kai-chan" he asked winking at the blunette "How about you _him_ out to play, I promise I'll be gentle"

"Shut up!" Kai spat "If you're so fucking bored why do you even play the damn game moron" his crimson eyes burned like a raging wild fire. Kai saw now the bastard was just playing with him, the other boy didn't even care about the battle as long as he won in the end. He closed his eyes for a second as he sighed only to find no trace of the redhead he'd been battling against for the past hour.

"Awwwwww" Kai heard him whin childishly "this game may not be all that entertaining" and suddenly whispered into the blunette's pale ear leaning in closely "but fortunately for me...you are alot of fun" Kai started to panic as he felt thin but muscular arms wrap around his hips and another body pull him flush against his back "Yes Kai-chan you're the one thing around here that never gets boring".

**TBC**


	17. Back To Back

I can't believe I started writing ATL in December 2005 I think...I was reading it lol I laugh alot rereading my own fics, that would mean I've been writing this for just over four years now...I'm so lazy!

Anyway some Tala+Kai brotherly bonding this time! Ah I remember bickering like this only without the blood...and the angst (evil smirk)

Anyway sorry Suzanne no kick arse Kai in this one but Kai and Tala kick major butt in the end chapters big action scenes if I can pull it off (most likely utter fail) and Nikolai makes on last appearance! (I like him he's so cute) as for who attacked Kai well well just think season 3 hehehe I dropped a hint with Kai's hatred for aquamarine (urgh I loathe that colour!) now if I gave his hair colour that would be a little too much of a clue...

**Disclaimer:** I would gladly trade any rights I owned for sleep...unfortunately I own nothing... argh! sleep! (bashes head against wall) need sleep!

**All That's Left**  
Chapter 17 Back To Back

_One day it all comes down to this  
You can sink or swim  
You can handle this  
One day it all comes down  
One day we all go down_

_I'll take my heart back  
And set the people free  
I'll leave the dead to die  
And take what's coming with me_

_Step back for all the world to see  
Your life means all the world to me  
I'll take your pain and suffering  
I'm such a sucker sometimes  
Sometimes we don't know  
So plug up those bullet holes  
Oh you feel so close, don't let go until I say_

(The Fight by The Classic Crime)

Tala was worried...when he'd arrived at school two days after Max had found him he been surprised to find Kai absent, even without Tala's constant mothering Kai normally got to the places he had to go on time.

"Rei...have you seen Kai?" he asked across the aisle.

"...I haven't seen Kai since a couple of days ago" the Chinese boy replied trying not to look up at Tala, his raven bangs falling into amber eyes.

"Tell Max I'm leaving early ok" He said getting up out of his seat and packing away his books.

"Yeah sure..." Rei mumbled in reply. Something was definitely wrong Tala could sense it, like a dull ache at the back of his mind when you know you've forgotten something important but don't know what the fuck it is.

**&&&**

(Kai's POV!)

When I opened my eyes all I saw was another white ceiling...the ground was cold and hard against my back, a sharp pain ran up my spine from my hips. I could smell blood, it wasn't just mine. I was only wearing training clothes, just a thin t-shirt and sweat pants making me shiver lying on the frozen concrete floor...the back of my pants are wet, somethings trailing down that back of my thighs. I couldn't remember what had happened...the guy had his hands on me and then...darkness like I was under water.

I tried to stand, my legs as wobbly as a new born gazelle...god I hate those nature shows. I should've known they wouldn't hold my weight not the I particularly heavy but slowly I slid down to the floor again my legs buckling underneath me.

"KAI!" Someone yelled out but I couldn't recognise the voice at all, my eyes must have been pretty bloodshot, all I could see were hazy flashes of red and blue and I fell against something solid yet for some stupid reason it was comfortable and soft at the same time.

"Kai are you ok? Are you hurt?" a male voice filtered through my clouded mind and a pair of strong warm arms wrapped around my waist...I started to panic a little until a scent caught my sensitive nose, it reminded me of home like the scent of fresh snow with strange whiffs of blood and cigarette ash, I don't know why but even in my barely conscious state it was comforting...it was almost familiar.

"Ta...la" I groaned out my hoarse voice barely a whisper, if I wasn't probably bleeding half to death I probably would be wondering how anyone heard me at all above the sound of the blaring sirens and alarms going off around us.

**&&&**

Tala stared at his adopted brother, holding him protectively against his chest**...**they were going to pay for what they'd done to Kai.

"Ta...la" Kai whispered.

"Kai I'm here don't worry I'm getting you out of here" he reassured Kai but more so himself.

"It's...al...right Ta..la" he tried to assert "I'm...fine"

"Don't give me that crap Kai you're fucking bleeding I'm taking you to a hospital right now!" Tala stated standing his ground against his equally stubborn friend.

"No...no...hospital...Boris...he'll fi..nd out" Kai gasped panicking and clutched onto Tala's shirt "our...rooms...medical supplies there" he argued.

"Ok but if you faint on me you're going straight to a fucking doctor ok" the red head growled carrying Kai over his shoulder.

"_Da_..." he whispered in reply.

**&&&**

(Tala POV!)

"Urgh..." he groaned as I laid him down on the floor of his room, hopefully he doesn't choke on his own vomit.

After I removed his shirt I looked over Kai some bruises were starting to form on his arms and chest standing out against his pale skin. There was a lot of cuts on his hands and forearms, mainly defensive wounds well I wouldn't expect anything else...my main concern is the cut to his head it's not that deep but he's still bleeding like a fucking whale with it's head sliced off.

"Stay there" I ordered him, though it's not like he's really gonna go anywhere while I search through all my shit. Ah let's see...ah some panadeine forte, bandages, antiseptic, stitches, gauze and...tape yep that's all of it, really if I knew he was gonna get the crap beaten out of him I would have stocked up more.

"Tala..." Kai said trying to sit up...gah honestly I know they tell people with head injuries to stay awake as much as possible but really sometimes I just wish I could just break his legs so he would just listen.

"Shut up, I'll give you some freaking pain killers in a fucking minute ok" I snapped at him and poked his in the chest, pushing him back down.

"Yeah yeah" he said pressing down on his forehead, blood trailing down the left side of his face.

"Sit up" I pushed back his hair and checked out the wound...luckily for both of us it won't need stitches I can just imagine trying to hold my adorable bastard little brother down and not in a good way either he bites you know!

"...urgh" he winced, damn it that idiot better not be keeping me in dark about something I'll drag him to the hospital myself kicking and screaming...not that I like that sort of thing...

"Tala you're...a moron" Kai stated, freaking hell I hate it when he does that! "Stop...being such a damn...pervert...you couldn't make a mouse scream" he knows too well...that or he's reading my mind! hmmm second answer mildly plausable this is Kai we're talking about I could see him having telepathy.

"I never knew you were into bestiality little Kai" but really Kai makes it way too easy sometimes.

"Wow...Tala you know such...bigs words...where'd you learn that...playboy, and honestly I don't have telepathy...you're just a moron" evil! burn the witch! heretic! urgh I've been hanging out with Max too much...

"You keep telling yourself that heretic! And no I didn't... I learnt it in Urecco" and sometimes I need to learn to just keep my mouth shut oh well in all that bickering I've finished wrapping the bandages around his thick head, told ya I'm awesome not that I would ever brag..."here have your _vitamins_" I tossed him the box of tablets.

"Hmn..." that's all he can say he can't even look up at me...god I need a smoke...

**TBC**


	18. Pendulum

Hi folks so we finally have some action! This is the first time I've written an action scene lol as well as anything remotely YAOI but I thought it sounded good at the time... this was fun though Kai and Tala are awesome to write as always as you see very little of Max and Rei in the later chapters until chapter 21 folks!

Sorry if the action seems a little forced I don't write action but lately I've been watching a lot of Code Geass and clips of Metal Gear Solid and I got thinking.

Disclaimer: Beyblade is not mine...there you got me!

**All That's Left**  
Chapter 18 Pendulum

_I'm walking pollution who's drained by delusions  
on the verge of destruction  
I cave in to abduction  
thin blood I'm bleeding  
my pulse won't stop racing  
just as my heart explodes_

(Angels With Dirty Faces by Sum 41)

It had been four days since Tala had found Kai laying beaten in the training ground. He'd progressively gotten less and less sleep and had taken to snapping at everyone that looked at him though tried to remain relatively normal around his friends.

He'd started to fall asleep in class...though he didn't pay attention most of time anyway.

Kai slept against his hard wooden desk using his folded arms as a sat in front of him taking notes of the lecture.

"Freud believed that one main factor in the unconscious is repression, that people repress memories that are too psychologically painful deep in their unconscious mind..." Romero-sensei surveyed his half empty psychology class with boredom as he lectured them about the theory of psychoanalysis.

_Pale hands grip his the sides of his waist tightly nails biting into Kai's back, the redhead's body weight pressing him hard into the ground from behind his whole body covering Kai's smaller one. _

_'You're being such a girl Kai-chan' he whispered into his ear the older boys hand trailing over the curves of Kai's waist and hips 'but don't worry I'll make a man out you, though I wouldn't mind seeing you in a dress Kai-chan' he ran his fingers through his two tone slate blue and navy locks._

Kai's eyes snapped open "Hiwatari-san!" Romero-sensei yelled out "I know Freud can be boring but that is no reason to fall asleep when I talking, even if Mister Ivanov is taking notes for you!"

Kai stared up at his teacher blankly... he felt angry, he know why it felt like someone was clenching their fist around his heart...he wanted to destroy things burn things to the ground.

"Shut the fuck up!" he growled jumping out of his seat so quickly his chair fell over. Kai head ached with a dull thumping against the inside of his skull, a grey sheen came off his skin almost like smoke. Romero-sensei reached over to try and calm his student down but retracted his hand in pain as if he was burnt. What was left of their small class, that were still awake, sat staring at the spectacle in front of them stunned "Don't fucking touch me!" Kai screamed and tired to back away.

"Kai?" Tala said wrapping his arm around his adoptive brother, even without touching he could see that Kai looked feverish "Romero-sensei I'll take him to the infirmary" he pulled Kai up over his shoulder and ran out of the room before the teacher had given his reply.

"Screw this" Tala muttered to himself, the gym was closer.

Throwing open the boys locker room he rushed to the showers and threw Kai under the stream of cold water clothes and all hot steam billowing off the boys body.

"Tala..." Kai murmured his body temperature slowly coming down to normal, his wet fringe plastered over his eyes.

"You alright now Kai? You had me worried for a second there what with your clothes nearly catching on fire!" he exclaimed.

"I feel fine now Tal...what am I doing in the showers?" Kai asked looking around confused and trying to stand up on his wobbly legs.

"Moron you went like Ted Sprague from Heroes on me" Tala spat handing him a towel "Though actually you were more like Zuko..."

"Who?" he asked wondering what the hell the moron was going on about now.

**&&&**

It was lunch time and Rei had just gotten out of a rather interesting Home Economics lesson where he'd made a better cake than his instructor. She'd been so irritated after she'd taken the whole class putting down his skills.

"Hey Kai!" he called out to his koi who'd just walked out of the gym with changed clothes and slightly damp hair. Kai strolled over to him a smirk plastered over his face arrogantly even though his face paint was smudged horribly on his cheeks.

Kai wrapped his arms around Rei's narrow waist pushing him through the open door of a near bye classroom.

"I want you Rei-chan I want you inside me now" Kai said into Rei ear the blunette's hot breath brushing against his neck, pressing into the wall._  
_

Kai crushed his lips against Rei's, the Chinese boy's eyes shot open in shock as he felt the Russian's hand slide under the waist band of his pants and gasped as Kai's fingers clenched tightly around his member. Rei stifled a moan that threatened to burst forth from the back of his throat 'No...' he thought 'This can't Kai, there's no way in hell he'd ever be this forward' and grabbed onto Kai's bony shoulders pushing him off roughly.

"Heh..." Kai said barked cheerfully, an amused tone running through his voice "Come on what's the matter Rei-Rei you didn't have any problems the other day" he whispered into Rei's ear running his tongue over the appendage and running it down his boyfriend's exposed neck.

"Stop you're not yourself Kai" he gasped trying to pull away quickly.

"You're right there Rei...I haven't been myself in a long time" The Russian replied his other hand slipping under Rei's shirt, ghosting over the younger boys nipples making Rei dig his teeth in his bottom lip to stifle a moan.

"Kai stop ok get off me what's wrong with you?" he tried to push him off.

"Che I'd have to ask what's wrong with you Rei...a teenage guy trying to get out of sex" Kai joked trying to pull Rei's pants down further by hooking his elbow with it.

Rei was becoming angry with Kai, he didn't want this what more did he have to say "Well I don't want to ok! stop trying to make me do something I don't want to!" he punched Kai in the gut "I going home I don't know what's up with you but sort it out your fucking self Kai and leave me alone til you have!" he growled adjusting his clothes before slamming the door to the class room behind him.

Kai smirked holding him stomach laughing softly "quite a punch your little koneko-chan has young master Kai" he said seemingly to himself "and a nice ass too I might add heh the most excitement I've had in a long time fun times fun times Kai oh how I'll enjoy toying with him".

**&&&**

Tala snapped open their locker and shoved their books onto a shelf. He'd agreed to go to the local Girugamesh concert with Max...it wasn't a date honest he had to bring Kai along, as if he'd leave Kai alone again after last week...though a date would be nice. He pulled out two changes of clothes, he wasn't about to go in school uniform, right.

They changed in the boys toilets Tala helping his brother into his outfit. Tala had to admit though Kai had much better style than him, all Tala was wearing was an orange turtleneck jumper and a pair of navy blue straight leg jeans. The blunette had picked out blue cargo pants and a high collared sleeveless black zip up jacket as well as black elbow length gloves along with his customary long white scarf. Yeah no matter how screwed in the head Kai ever got he never lost his coolness...

"Kai sometimes I really envy you you know that" he commentated as he helped him pull on his pants.

"I can't help that I'm cooler than you Reddy" Kai joked though his face didn't show any amusement and rolled eyes "Anyway just think you'll always be taller than me" and he slipped his shoes back on.

"You sure you're ok? You disappear for a bit I couldn't find you anywhere and now Rei's mad..._something_ didn't happen did it?" he asked brushing his crimson hair back into place.

"Nothing happened Tala you're being paranoid" he argued walking out of the toilets the twin ends of his scarf trailing behind him.

"It's not paranoia if it's real" Tala call after him catching up quickly with his longer strides.

"Che...I don't remember" Kai replied crossing his arms across his chest "I don't remember anything after you threw me into the showers except the next thing I know is my stomach is hurting like someone punched me in the gut" he rubbed his head tiredly.

"You can go over to Rei's you know you don't have to come along" his brother tried to persuade him seeing how bad Kai looked out in the dying natural light of the school yard.

"I'm fine...if anything you nagging is causing my headache" the younger of the two growled resisting the urge to smack him in the head for his present level of annoyance.

"I'm not allowed to worry about my little brother?" Tala asked leaning against the school grounds front gate.

"_Adopted_ brother, you should look out for yourself more...Max is taking a long time" he commented checking his watch.

"I know it's late" the redhead answered noticing the area was deserted for this time of day "Do you hear something?" he said listening for the noise he'd heard in the distance moving closer with every passing second.

"Yeah...should we run?" Kai questioned looking down the street.

A conspicuous black van turned down the road towards the two of them, it wasn't even speeding just driving at normal speed.

"I don't see why they'll catch us anyway it's obvious Boris wants us...really he could have just called" Tala joked waving his hand.

The van suddenly schreeched to a holt driving up onto the footpath.

'How boring...' Kai thought sighing as three guys in fatigues busted out of the van surrounding the two, M16's pointed straight at them.

"Directo Balkov would like to talk with you boys" one of them told them nudging Tala with the butt of his assault rifle even though he already had his hands up.

"Yeah yeah we're cooperating your ass" Tala complained as a second soldier kicked him inside the van.

"Shut up kid!" the man kicked hard in the gut as Tala laid doubled over on the floor of the van.

"Kai..." he gasped as his brother was pistol whipped in the face and fell backwards nearly on top of Tala with a split lip, a small stream of blood running down his chin. There was a loud scrapping noise and it went dark as the door was slammed shut.

**&&&**

Tala opened his eyes, his head hurt like crazy and he felt like he was going to throw up any second now.

'What the hell happened?' he thought clutching his head then he remember 'ah yeah the explosion...' he looked around there was no sign of Kai or anyone else for that matter.

They'd been handed over to Boris as soon as they'd arrived at the mansion, sore and jostled from the ride. Afterwards the two of them had been taken down to the subterranean levels but had been separated after that. Tala had heard screaming...he knew that voice it had been ingrained in the back of his mind since he was a baby.

'Kai...the guards' he'd fought himself free from the two guarding him and ran in the direction of the yelling. Three soldiers had Kai cornered against a wall and were trying to shut him up but only making him panic even more Kai's face going redder and redder as waves of heat ebbed off his thin body the wall against his back bursting into flames and the metal of the grated floor below turning bright red as it melted into slag under the intense heat rolling of was trying to escape their touch but very just tightened their hold on Kai rubbing against the inside the boy's legs and waist...Kai's eyes..they had glowed a bright white... a giant burst of energy exploded from inside him blowing everything in it's path down burning it to ashes.

Tala had been blown into a beam as the floor collapsed under them. He'd seen his brother fall down the crevasse and he'd thought he landed near Section 5 on Level 2 around the test subject holding cells.

"Urgh...Kai..."he groaned pulling himself to him his feet feeling slightly lucky that he hadn't broken anything other than his ego and wiped the blood from his eyes trying to get the multitude of cuts and grazes on his face to stop bleeding.

**&&&  
**

Kai slowly backed up pushing himself up against the rusted metal wall of the tunnel he needed a rest and the bastards were going to catch up with him anyway sooner or later.

He stared towards the exit, the tunnel ended in an opening just big enough for one person to stand in but there was nothing after it except a thirty metre drop onto the concrete floor of the chamber below.

'Hmmm' he thought catching his breath 'torturous experiments and slow painful execution or...a quick plummet to my death...' he heard the guards footstep get closer and closer 'not really much of a choice but if I have to go...' he trailed off his heart pounding in his chest so hard he could feel the blood of pounding against his skull echoing in his ears. For a second he closed his eyes his head hurt like his brain was on fire... he could feel the hot wetness of blood soak into the bandages Tala had wrapped around his forehead then slowly trickle down the side of his pale neck soaking into the high collar of his black shirt and scarf.

Suddenly his crimson eyes snapped open, his reflexes kicking in through his near exhaustion.

"Holt!" someone yelled out and a shot rang out through the cold air.

"Hold your fire!" another person ordered.

'I guess I don't have much of a choice now' Kai thought, he'd turned his head just as he'd heard the gun fire the bullet stung slicing open his right cheek like a switchblade, he stared at the soldiers blocking off any chance of escape well an escape he'd live through anyway and weighed up his options 'heh...oh well I've only got probably 3 percent chance of survival but if I'm gonna die anyway I might as well go out fighting.

"Kapitan Hiwatari, Kai Demyan Anatoli..., you are here by under arrest for treason we have been ordered to take you directly to Director Balkov" the squad commander recited the ruling against Kai from the higher ups in Biovault.

"And if I refuse?" Kai asked just hell of it, he pushed himself off of the wall so that he was standing in the centre of the tunnel he started to back away slowly from the guards as they moved closer.

"You'll be taken to be taken to Section 9 for interrogation" the man said his face twitching slightly.

"You shouldn't lie to those about to die you know it's not nice" Kai advised him casually and sighed taking another step backwards until without the men noticing he was balancing his feet precariously on the edge of the tunnel 'Section 9 - yeah I was right - highly dangerous experimentation...heh he might as well have said gas chamber for the way he was twitching, che obviously a new guy god where does Boris get these guys... no control at all' he thought "Well it looks like this is where I say goodbye" he announced tilting his body back falling.

Bullets went buzzing past him at the speed of sound most missing completely as he fell, some grazing his arms and legs. As he fell time seemed to slow down for Kai, as his slate blue hair whipped around his face, he didn't regret anything it was his personal policy - only regret something you could have done something about because you have no right to complain unless you've done everything you possibly could. Mainly Tala came to mind...Rei and Max...though now that he thought about he did have one regret, just one...he could never get revenge on Brooklyn... Brooklyn Kingston he was probably one of the few people who you could say was as sadistic as Boris. Kai wished with all his mental power that he could've just once smacked that smirk off that red head face, that pale face that looked so smug and arrogant you'd think he thought himself a god amongst men.

'But I don't want to die...' the thought exploded in his mind 'For the first time in my life I actually want to keep on living'

His vision went red as a fiery hot crimson mist surrounded him and his body twisted around falling feet first he started to slow down almost like he was levitating instead of free falling...slower and slower until he was...'What the hell's going on?' he thought touching down on the concrete floor below with unsteady footing causing him to tumble down.

"Ah!" he cried clutching his shoulder with his gloved hand "damn fucking bastards actually got a hit...who'd...have thought" blood bubbled up from between his fingers "what the hell?" his fingers felt hot...burning hot like they were on fire cauterising the open wound. Kai was sweating from the pain 'damnit Boris just what did you do to us you asshole' he thought gasping 'water I need water...' suddenly a bottle levitated towards him 'well he is a sick fuck but really what hell was the point of all those experiments on us! what the fucks happening to me...first I can burn create fire now telekinesis what next Tala's really Wolverine!'.

**&&&**

Tala crawled across the metal grating of the ceiling space, he'd seen Kai disappear in this direction during the explosion that had separated them. Below him two soldiers were standing guard in front of Section 5 where they kept the test subjects when they weren't being experimented on...except for Kai and him of course, they were kept on the same floor as Boris' private chambers.

Quickly Tala slid the grate open and dropped down.

"What the hell!" one of them yelled trying to get a couple of shots off with his pistol before Tala spin kicked him in the face the back of his head cracking against the door knocking the soldier out cold.

Tala felt the cold butt of a gun against the back of his head.

"Put your hands on your head and turn around towards me slowly" a man said behind him.

'Damn moron you always forget about the other guy' Tala thought trying to think of an escape plan quickly and smirked to himself. "Yes I surrender guard-san please do not hurt me" he pleaded as he fulfilled the slightly older man's requests but as he held onto Tala's arms to cuff him the red head grabbed onto the guards twisting his arm he was still holding his gun with behind his back pain shooting through the guards wrist and shoulder making him drop the gun...right into Tala's welcoming hand.

"Though guard-san I can't promise I won't hurt you" he threatened sarcastically pressing the guard-san own gun into the man's forehead.

**TBC**


	19. Rip Off The Blindfold

**Hi everyone! Ah god these two chapters are freaking awesome...I guess they should be after all the time I spent on perfecting them scene by scene but mainly they're awesome coz I spent all the time listening to 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' and 'Animal I Have Become' lol...and Nikolai finally gets some scene of his own yeah he rocks...when he's not killing people and messing with Kai's head that is! **

**And just think I was originally gonna put Garland and Brooklyn as the good guys heh!**

**(Thanks Suzanne I try to mix in some funniness into my fics, can't have angst every second of the day now can we lol I just had this image of Tala totally being James Bond but epically failing! Anyway I did kill peoples T.T but not anyone important!)**

**Warning: **Lots of Swearing! Minor Character Death! Psychic Mind Rape! Brooklyn being a total dick!

**Disclaimer:** I's owns nothings nots evens Cyborg Tala damns!

**All That's Left**  
Chapter 19 Rip Off The Blindfold  
_  
They taped over your mouth  
Scribbled out the truth with their lies  
You little spies_

(Crush Crush Crush by Paramore)

Kai limped down the corridor, he was thinking that maybe running through a room full of automated machine guns wasn't such a wise idea as he originally thought.

"God damn it...heh a little rusty but it was only the calf this time though" he sighed using the wall for support.

He had worked out he'd stumbled into Basement Level 3 Sector 10 where all the experiments were conducted on him...Tala and any other unfortunately bastard BioVault had managed to drag into the operation.

Kai hobbled as quickly as he could ignoring the stabbing pain in the left leg, he had to find Tala and fast before Boris caught up with them. Really neither of them had any means to defend themselves other than hand to hand combat...all Kai had managed to procure was a Glock fully loaded with 10mm auto he'd swiped from a guard station when they were changing shifts.

"Knowing that bastard he's already set some kind of trap to lure one or both of us to him" He whispered to himself as he brushed some hair from his eyes.

**&&&**

Boris caressed his face pulling Tala close and whispered into his ear "It was fun while it lasted but little Brooklyn is much more willing to play along then you were son"

"Bastard!" Tala gasped gritting his teeth trying to pull away from him "shut up as far as I'm concerned Yuri was my father" he growled.

"Ah Yuri he always was too forgiving for his own good" Boris commented tightening his grip on the red head "He took that whore Sveta back even though he knew I'd fucked her until she bled...hell he even married her, he let her keep you and fucking had a freak of their own" he spat "You two look so much like that frigid bitch I can't even tell if little Kai is really a guy...and you're virtually her fucking clone...atleast Brooklyn...Brooklyn he's a real man"

Tala glared up at him defiantly "Yeah right...you just like hurting people! Sveta wasn't going to give up anyone to someone like you willingly" he laughed only to end up gritting his teeth in pain.

"She could've moved you, that bitch knew my bastard cousin was going to his death the day he walked out" the purple haired man whispered "The slut choose to stay at the house in some desperate hope her little Yuri would still be alive...heh yeah right I didn't even waste a bullet on the fool, fucking knife to the throat...straight through the jugular...pissed blood everywhere but god it was such a pretty sight"

"Sir!" A tall silver haired man ran into the room.

"What now Kapitan Seabalt?" Boris growled not even looking in the man's direction "Can't you see I'm busy at this present moment!"

"I'm sorry sir but there are fires breaking out through out the base sir" he explained.

"Evacuate the base at once, this is probably Hiwatari's doing!" Boris ordered "destroy all incriminating material...to that end I'm leaving you in charge here Seabalt I'm bored with this traitor dispose of it as you see fit just make sure he suffers, dismissed" he threw Tala roughly to the ground, kicking the teen in the stomach before he stormed out of the training room.

"Garland? You're supposed to be MIA! Everyone thought you were fucking dead!" Tala asked angrily, slowing standing back up his hand still bound tightly together behind him with rope.

"Really? Well that's what you get for assuming things Ivanov, I was always stronger than you but some reason you and that weakling Kai were always promoted ahead of me and then well well what do I hear - Tala Ivanov the great 2IC of Unit 6 is fucking around with Balkov and not only that but Kapitan Hiwatari, who is your adoptive brother, is his second cousin" Garland smirked as he pondered things "So Tala I've always wondered why you two are so close all the time so is it you just like to keep it in the family or...-" he was cut off as Tala lunged at him, his teeth bared, as he tried to kick and bite Garland like a rabid dog.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW? YOU SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT ABOUT KAI AGAIN I'LL FUCKING GODDAMN KILL YOU YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Tala screamed clawing at his face when a burning pain shot up through his arm "ARGH!" he snarled clutching his left hand to his chest.

"Moron..." Garland said shaking his head he smirked, sparks of what seemed to be lightning crackled around his body with loud popping sounds filling the air like sparklers on New Years.

"What the hell!" Tala cried out, he felt like his nerves were on fire "So...you were a test subject as well it seems...fuck this, fuck this...then fuck this all to hell asshole!" his eyes glowed electric blue as the temperature of the room suddenly dropped steam coming from their mouths and noses...ice forming across the concrete floor and the steel columns supporting the ceiling creaked ominously as the cold made them contract and heavy icicles sprouted downwards from them.

"Ivanov..." Garland gasped snowflakes collecting quickly around his bare arms freezing them into solid blocks of ice and cementing his feet to the floor, he panicked a little before remembering his training as he lost all feeling below his knees and both entire arms "Ivanov what the fuck do you think you're doing?" he said trying to remain calm as Tala pulled a metal bar from piping running across the walls and walked over to him swinging the pole around from left to right, a grin plastered across his pale face.

"Oh nothing just going to make you know how it feels to lose an arm and a leg, with interest of course!" Tala explained bringing the pole over his head like a baseball bat swinging hard and shattered the man's arms into shards of frozen flesh scattered across the now wet floor "Let's see how you like it! You left me and Kai out in that damn desert to die you traitor! You left everyone to die! You fucking cunt!" he cracked him in the head cutting the German man's lip open blood streamed down Garland's blue tinged face from his left eye, the burst capillaries coating his gold iris crimson.

**&&&**

Kai heard yelling 'God there's only one I know who can swear that much in the one sentence' he thought cringing mentally. Slowly he shuffled his way towards the direction of the shouting match.

_-Crack!-_

All the lights lining the hallway suddenly exploded and blades of glass rained down overhead as Kai moved as fast as he could to escape the hundreds of splinters that were flying through the air as well as acrid smoke floating about from the burnt copper wiring and their melted plastic sheathes. Quickly feeling his way through the inky blackness of the windowless underground corridor he found his way to an open doorway.

"Tala?" he whispered into the pitch black room his voice echoing in the silence.

"Urgh..." a groan came in reply. Fumbling around Kai felt the soft wool of his brother's jumper and the hardness of his prosthetic arm, leaning over he frisked Tala for the green zippo he knew was in the redhead's back pocket.

"Hey Tala wake up you jerk" Kai said poking him in the ribs "You're expecting me to carry you arn't ya? goddamnit..." he sighed putting the lighter between his teeth and pulling the barely responsive Tala over his shoulder "Well atleast you've finally shut up for once". Slowly he made it towards what he thought was the elevator down the end of the hall with one arm around the redhead's waist (Kai cursing his other boy's tallness with every step) and one holding the lighter in front of him providing marginally enough light to navigate the corridors with until he saw someone at the end standing a couple of metres away at the edge of the darkness, the other half of his pale face in the light of the unbroken fluorescent bulbs making his dark orange hair visible.

"Well well Kai-chan fancy meeting you here" the older boy said staring lazily at the two.

'Damn it to hell' Kai thought biting his bottom lip.

"Now now Kai-chan it's not nice to swear you know" he replied as if reading Kai's thoughts "Especially when infront of you brother"

"What the fuck are you talking about bastard?" Kai questioned glaring angrily "I don't have time for your games bastard"

"Tsk tsk come on Kai-chan play nicely and for one thing my name isn't 'bastard' it's Brooklyn you know that my dearest little brother, ah what ever shall we do with you two" Brooklyn chastised him wagging his gloved index finger.

"Since when have you ever played nicely bastard now get the fuck out of my way before I kill you" he growled but Brooklyn didn't move an inch, the other boy smiling broadly "Well then it'll be your death" Kai said as he laid Tala safely on his side against the wall.

"Hmnn like you could ever defeat me Kai-chan especially in that condition heh" Brooklyn whispered to the bluenette as he pushed him hard against the wall and ran his tongue over the shell of Kai's ear.

"Grrrrrrr" Kai bit back his anger he had to remain relatively calm he couldn't exactly risk letting _Him_ loose especially with Tala the way he was right now. Quickly he formulated a plan pushing Brooklyn off himself with all the strength he could muster knocking him in the other wall the other boy's head connecting head with the hard surface.

Taking the small window of opportunity he hobbled down the hall and turned left at the junction straight into an empty storeroom, he didn't like leaving Tala there defenceless but Kai hoped that he could double back for Tala later on.

Slowly the orange haired teen picked himself up from the floor.

"Bad move Kai-chan that was a very bad move" Brooklyn warned taking up pursuit.

**TBC**


	20. Killing My Shadows

Hello hello my dear readers and reviewers alike alas ATL is one epilogue away from being over but do not despair for there is a sequel in the works as we type...if you wish to continue reading about the angsty adventures of Kai and Tala just look out for a story called Whispers In The Wind set four years in the future.

Disclaimer: Yes I am poor I don't own any series let alone Beyblade...don't laugh I'll set Nikolai onto ya!

**All That's Left  
**Chapter 20 Killing My Shadows

_And I am war after ten years of fighting  
I am there after every time you hear bad news  
I am not a flame with seven years of lighting  
And I need you just like they do  
I am windows breaking in the airplanes  
Where nothing comes out quite like it was meant to  
I am what you're feeling in your neck veins_

(The Better Way by Brighten)

"Heh Tala will turn on you, it's only a matter of time you know Kai-chan...oh on the inside he's the same as me" Brooklyn lectured, searching the bluenette out "As they say it's all in the genes after all" He smirked as he slowly slipped inside Kai's psyche.

"Get out of my head!" Kai growled angrily struggling against him "I don't care ok...Tala's his own person! So what Boris is your father you chose him...Tala chose to stay with me even after we were taken to biovault...he doesn't need you people to be strong, being a brother comes from your heart not who your parents were fucking moron"Brooklyn stepped into the storeroom, shaking his head at how stupid he thought his brother was being, and grabbed tightly onto Kai's shirt.

Suddenly a name mysteriously popped into his head"...Shura..." Kai whispered blinking rapidly.

Brooklyn pushed him away violently, Kai's head smacking against the wall he laid there blood pooling under his ear soaking into his hair.

"Shut up!" Brooklyn suddenly yelled at him, his eyes narrowing.

"Shura...that's your real name" Kai gasped coughing blood splattered against the floor and clung to his mouth like honey thick and blackish burgundy.

"Shut up don't call me that! I was never that person!" he screamed as he kicked Kai in the gut repeatedly "Just shut up! Shut up!".

Kai slowly got back up to his feet again, wobbling a little but upright "Heh...so I was right all this time it was just me defeating myself...cough...and so the game changes..." he whispered to himself light whiffs of smoke billowing of his sweat and blood coated skin.

"Really...heh" he said grabbing Kai's hair and pulled him forward roughly "Nothing ever changes I have the power here you're nothing you could've been like me but you chose that whore over your own family she never loved me it was always about you! You and that bastard Tala!" Brooklyn punched in the side of his jaw.

_"That was too easy" Li Cui commented smirking throwing away the syringe carelessly as Kai's body fell to the floor of the trashy apartment._

_Kai groaned his blood red eyes snapping open, a smirk plaster on his face "Oh yes it was way too easy woman heheheh..." Kai didn't know really what had been going on in his mind - he knew Nikolai hadn't taken control because there was no black out like normal. He grabbed her wrist tightly so roughly he could hear something snap and the woman cried out sharply in pain. Quickly Kai pulled her arm behind her back pushing a knife up between her ribs stabbing up into her lung cutting off her screeching abruptly. He'd done this move enough times he didn't even have to think about it._

"Get the fuck out_..._"he groaned clutching his head in pain.

_He grabbed a roll of duct tape out of his pants pocket and plastered it over the wound and the woman's mouth as he dragged her over to the bed tying her wrists and ankles to the posts._

"I'll never be like you! I'm nothing like you Brooklyn" Kai said lifting his head up his crimson eyes ablaze with determination, slowly he got back up on his feet "You think you know about pain...real pain just because your mother never loved you...you're pathetic...if you want to create your own future all you have to do is have the will to do it!"

Brooklyn stared in shock at slate haired teen rose back up yet again "What are you talking about? My vision...it's all wrong I don't understand!" he gasped half panicking and half in anger his hands clenched into fists.

"Shut up!...god you're such a spoiled whiny little bitch" Kai exclaimed wiping the trail of blood from his jawline while he had the mouth flapping motion with his other hand.

"How dare you? You little brat I'll put you down for good!" the redhead yelled his blade flying towards Kai's head but something blocked his furious attack, a blinding white light filling the room pushing back Brooklyn's darkness.

"WHAT! WHERE IS THIS POWER COMING FROM?" he screamed red and yellow engulfed his vision, his aqua coloured eyes widened "Her..." he whispered to himself "I understand now...it's her! But why?...why is that vile woman protecting you? WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU!"

The surroundings turned pitch black the only thing visible were him and Brooklyn.

"Because you won't stop being a dick!" Kai said calmly with a smirk on his lips "you think you have power, please! you just do whatever that bastard says so he doesn't hurt you...you're a fucking coward Shura come on show how much of a tough guy you are" he spat out the blood that had been filling his mouth out at him.

"What are you?" he asked slightly trembling with droplets of sweat running down his pale face.

"Human and so are you...you may think you're some god like being but just like everyone else...you're a just a little boy trying to play grown up...oh look at me I'm Brooklyn arn't I so big and manly and powerful I rape people and belittle them bow down before me wah wah wah... shut up brat!" Nikolai stated calmly a psychotic grin plastered across his face "I am the only one around here allowed to pull off that shit!"

"Shut the hell up! You're nothing!" he screamed his pale skin flushed and his face contorted with a display of the burning anger he hadn't felt in years.

"You think you're soooo smart but for...some reason didn't realise that when you invaded my puppet's mind you also let down your own barrier to do so...oh what a moron!" The sadistic alter explained really just for his own benefit so he could mock the orange haired man some more. Nikolai smirked raising his hand to towards the ceiling "Just so's ya should know I have a lot more control over these stupid powers that asshole Boris forced onto us" he said "Oh well now you die" a great stream of flames shot upwards towards the roof burning everything away,the pressure from the floor above them pressing down causing cracks to run across through the concrete.

"Heh you're plan didn't work quite as you expected" Brooklyn quibbed glaring at him.

"Oh" the bluenette said "really I guess I'll have to practice some more than because for some reason my puppet wants to give you mercy" he sighed "Oh well for us this is mercy" the ceiling collapsed on top of Brooklyn in a pile of burning rubble.

**TBC**


	21. Epilogue: What's Left of My Heart

**Okay folks the action is dying down finally and we get to find out who lives and who dies! Heh well I know of course lol anyway this is the last chapter...finally after let's see it was December 2005 that I began writing this (I think or was it 2004...memory so fuzzy...so long ago!) **

**As I have said previously thank you to all those who have read All That's Left, I normally don't have much motivation to finish my fics without reader support because I have so many ideas for stories it's hard to pick which one to do first.  
**

**Disclaimer:** Like I've said many a time I don't own Beyblade or any other pop culture reference I may or may not mention during ATL such the song feature below All That's Left by Thrice! The lead singer sounds kind of like Kai in some of their songs...yes I am very petty...but hey the song is officially awesome I named this fic after it after all!

**All That's Left  
Chapter 21 Epilogue: What's Left of My Heart**

_One day the dreamers died  
Within us  
When all our answers never came.  
We hid the truth beneath  
Our skin but  
Our shadows never looked the same._

_A ghost  
Is all that's left  
Of everything we swore we never would forget.  
We tried to bleed the sickness  
But we drained our hearts instead.  
We are...  
We are the dead._

_And when we couldn't stop  
The bleeding  
And when we couldn't stop  
The bleeding  
We held our hearts over the flame  
We held our hearts over the flame  
We couldn't help but call it treason  
Treason  
And after that we couldn't fill our frames.  
After that our shadows never looked the same._

Kai dragged himself down the hall, alarms ringing in his ears all around him, he had to go back...he had to back to Tala and make sure he was okay. At the time when Kai'd had Tala slumped over his shoulder the redhead had been unconscious though the beat of his heart was faint thankfully it was stable but his breathing was raspy and labored.

Limping back Kai was leaning hard against any surface he could grab onto. His left foot dragged behind him, his calf ached and a stabbing pain shot through his whole leg after every step as the bullet lodged in his just behind his knee from the feeling of it pressed against a nerve. Though if he stopped to think about it concentrating on the bullet wound was the only thing keeping him from noticing his broken ribs and fuzzy of his vision, but Kai knew if he did stop at all he probably wouldn't get up again he was so tired...he felt like he just wanted to sleep and not wake up for a month.

"Tala...ta...la" he wheezed blood pooling at the back of his throat.

In the light he saw the extent of his brother's injuries...burns over his chest his jumper looked like it had burned away to nothing except for the strands of wool that had melted into the fake skin of his right arm. A scar ran down his left arm from the palm of his hand right up to Tala's shoulder. Kai had seen injuries like these before...

"Urgh...hugh...uh" he hacked as black smoke drift through the air above them. Kai sat down next to the redhead and hugged Tala close to him trying to keep the older boy warm. They need a way out but both stair wells were cut off so the only path up to the surface would be to go up in the lift. He sighed and took off his jacket putting on Tala to stave off hypothermia.

"Ugh...Come on Tala" Kai whispered pulling the other boy up with him as he stood, the bluenette's arm around Tala's waist and dragged him along "If we're going to die anyway we might as well go down fighting..."

_Ding! _

The elevator pinged as the doors opened and Kai threw them inside, mashing the button for the ground floor repeatedly in his impatience "Come on you fucking...damn ass thing!" he yelled angrily at the machine as it slowly rose up the three levels. Kai's left hand twitched over his pistol as the car slowed down and the metal doors slid back revealing six armed guards.

"Hi" Kai said smiling awkwardly and gave them a little wave, wincing in pain 'oh yeah for some strange reason broken ribs make it hard to breath' he thought sarcastically.

"Hands in the air" one of the men ordered pointing his M16 at them.

**&&&**

Rei ran up the street towards the mountain, he'd seen Kai walking home that way a lot of times after school but didn't know exactly where the blunette lived.

Just over half way up he spotted a large stone mansion...smoke was billowing out of the ground floor windows into the night sky. He hadn't known why but he felt like he was... like it had drawn him him and every cell in his body was yelling at him that something was terribly wrong.

Suddenly his mobile rang "Max what is it?" he spoke raggedly into the phone.

_'Where are you Rei? Do you know where Kai and Tala are? It's been nearly an hour and they haven't shown'_ the blonde asked worry in his voice.

"I don't know!" he snapped his voice cracking "where the hell do they live Max?"

_'Calm down for a fucking minute Rei! it's up the mountain about half way up the face in Shizuka-ku over on Hiwatari Avenue' _he told his friend.

**&&&**

"I said hands in the air" a man ordered pointing his rifle at the BioVolt guards "You kids okay?" he asked Kai.

"Sir we've rounded up the remaining mercenaries" another member of the SWAT said "what do we do with Balkov sir?"

"Arrest the bastard" he replied smirking behind his visor "I've been waiting to put that shithead away for years, lets see how he does with some of his own medicine...hand and leg cuffs I don't want the fucker going anywhere"

"Yes sir" two other officers saluted him and ran off down further into building.

Kai's vision blurred more and more he was so tired and he'd been fighting for so long...he just didn't want to have to fight anymore.

"Hey kid?" someone said "Come on where the fucking hell are those EMT's damnit!" he yelled as Kai slipped into unconsciousness.

**&&&**

The Chinese boy arrived just Boris was being dragged away in chains. Three stretchers were being carried out of the burning mansion towards the waiting ambulances, one cover with white cloth.

"Kai!?" he called out rushing over to them.

"Sir the building's unstable, you must stay back" a policeman said stopping Rei from coming any further.

"But my friends are in their!" Rei yelled pleading with the man to let him through.

"I can't let you through, I'm Detective D.J Jazzman okay - your friends what do they look like maybe I can find them for you?" he asked him calmly.

"My Rei...Kai is a couple of inches taller than me with two tone blue hair and Tala's nearly a head taller again with dark red hair" Rei described the two as roughly and quickly as he could in his anxious state.

"Okay Rei just stay here I'll see if I can find Kai but I can tell you now someone of your friend Tala's description was already sent ahead to the hospital with critical injuries" Detective Jazzman commanded him running over to his captain for information.

That's when Rei spotted the Russian boys, he was a fair distance away and there was ash and blood covering his face but Rei knew that mop of blue hair anywhere "KAI!" he shouted and ran over to where one of the paramedics were maneuvering him into an ambulance.

As he came closer Rei could see how Kai laid still on the stretcher his face cringing unconsciously from his obviously discomfort, his body was covered in bruises, deep cuts and what looked like small burns over his hands...Rei tried not to look away when he saw how Kai's his leg had been bandaged up like a mummy to stop the blood flow.

On the other side of the driveway Boris fought against the two smaller men trying to get him into cuffs. "FUCKING BRATS YOU'RE DEAD! YOU THINK THIS IS OVER! YOU'LL NEVER BE SAFE!" He yelled as the police dragged him kicking and screaming into the car.

"Kai...?" Rei whispered stroking Kai's hair as the boy groaned in pain. If it wasn't for the hair he probably wouldn't have been able to identify him Kai's face was so bloodied up and swollen.

"Ta...la..." Kai moaned his eyes scrunched up with effort, trying with all his might to get up. Rei put his hands on his boyfriend's chest trying to keep him on the gurney without hurting him further.

"Kai...don't try to get up you're hurt, Tala's already been taken to hospital" He told him as Kai started to panic and his breathing erratic.

"Mister we have to get him to hospital right away" the paramedic said to Rei as his partner closed the doors and climbed in the front of the ambulance.

**&&&**

_Drip...drip...drip_

Morphine slowly seeped into his vein drop by drop through the IV line stabbing into the skin just below the crook of his elbow.

Kai leaned back into his pillows and stared unseeing up at the sterile white ceiling, a patch over his right eye "You know I used to hate you Papa so much, I'd thought you'd left us...I never understood why you never returned and I'd always be thinking that for some reason it was my fault" he whispered his voice raspy from the oxygen mask that covered his mouth and nose, as he clenched and unclenched his fingers around the sheets either side of him ignoring the sting from the first degree burns covering them... for the time being they were really the only thing he could move freely.

"Kai...you're awake..." Rei asked his voice sounding very sleepy and tiredly he moved his chair over besides Kai.

The blunette just gave him a looked like he was thinking 'no duh Rei I'm still unconscious I'm telepathic you know!'

"Yeah kind of stating the obvious aren't I? Anyway I'm glad you woke up when you did they were going to move you to the coma ward if you didn't wake up soon Max and I used to come every day but he had to go back to school" he said scratching his head nervously, he felt like he sounded like such an idiot.

"Rei where's Tala?... Is he alright?" Kai questioned anxiously wishing he could sit up but the pain in his chest kept him flat against the bed 'argh!' he cringed mentally 'ok I'm not trying that again...when moving the morphine does nothing' and ground his teeth.

"Calm Tala got out two days ago he's trying to get everything organised, seeing as Boris is under arrest and all Kai so Tala had to fight to be made your medical proxy and legal guardian seeing as you are under eighteen you know...ok so stop looking so worried you're the one that's badly injured" he told he patting Kai's hair.

"Who's worried about that bastard he's nothing but trouble...and heavy..." the blunette tried to cover up his concern but he was telling the truth about the Tala being heavy part.

"Who are you calling a heavy bastard? bastard!" someone called out from the doorway.

"You are bastard...and you are heavy when was the last time you worked out?" Kai argued.

"Everyday...just because you weight the same as a ten year old doesn't give you the right to say I have weight issues seriously Kai your measurements haven't changed since you were fourteen" Tala joked poking his little brother in the forehead.

"I just have a fast metabolism...that's all" he argued "Anyway last I remembered you were the one in the coma not me...so how the hell did you get out before me damnit" Kai coughed repeatedly the strain on his dry throat getting to be too much.

Rei helped his boyfriend drink some water as he pushed his mask up before putting pillows behind him and adjusting his bed so Kai was upright enough not to choke on the liquid.

"Well let's see mild electrocution" he said after Kai finished coughing, holding up one hand then another as if weighing things up "multiple broken ribs...punctured lung...blood loss and concussion oh and did I mention the bullet lodged in you leg...hmm I wonder"

"Ok...when...when you...put it...like that..." Kai replied his voice hoarse and raspy as hell.

"But really you do that again I'll slit you throat with a rusty screw driver" Tala warned glaring at him.

"Yeah...right, so...what now?" he asked giving Rei pointed looks.

"Ok ok I'm leaving you don't need to use the glare" Rei joked leaving the room.

As soon as the door clicked shut and they could no longer hear the other boy's footsteps echoing down the hall the two started talking again.

"So it happened to you too huh?" the redhead queried becoming serious as he sat down on the end of the bed "We can't tell anyone about these abilities got that...Garland died because of them and Brooklyn's gone insane".

"People...already think...we're freaks" Kai murmured "it's nothing...to worry...about for...now" he closed his eye tiredly.

"Well we'll leave it for now, anyway Boris is gaol now he was gonna get the death penalty but the Russian's haggled it down to life without parole the first two years here then the rest back in Moscow" he explained running his fingers through his crimson locks.

"Now...he's someone's bitch..."

"Hey I never thought about it like that heh!" Tala laughed.

**The End...**


End file.
